Lost And Found
by ihartteenjesus
Summary: Santana is lonely and trying to let Brittany go. Des is just a country girl coming to terms with who she is. They need each other, but can they realize that before it's too late? Santana/OC - COMPLETE! The next part of the Santana/Des story will be out ASAP.
1. Lonely

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

Santana hated to admit that she was excited about anything, but her first dance class at NYADA had made her feel alive again. She pulled her hair back from her face and donned a black leotard. She pulled a tight dress on over it and slipped into her boots. She grabbed her dance bag and headed for the door. "I'm leaving," she called. Rachel poked her head out from her bedroom door. "So early? I thought your class didn't start for another hour," she said. "I'm gonna grab a coffee on the way," she lied. "The teacher is kind of pissy if you're late." "Oh. Okay," Rachel said, ducking back into her room.

It was a short subway ride to NYADA, though it felt like forever. Santana hated the subway. She was constantly getting felt up by assholes old enough to be her father and it smelled terrible most of the time. She was glad to step off the train at her stop, take the steps up to the street, and make her way into the building where her class was held. She checked the time on the clock in the hall. She still had about forty minutes before anyone showed up. She walked into the empty room, shimmied out of her dress, and made her way to one of the bars. After a quick warm up, she put her iPod on and lost herself in the music.

She hadn't been dancing long when someone came in unexpectedly. She ripped her earbuds from her ears and stopped dancing. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. Is this the dance class? I'm...I'm Des," the girl said, holding out a hand for Santana to shake. Santana just stared at her until she put her hand down. "Sorry," she mumbled again. She turned and put her bag down in a corner. Santana watched the girl kick off her sneakers and awkwardly take off her jeans and t-shirt. Underneath was a shiny purple leotard and black shorts. Des turned back around and put her shoes back on. She looked up and looked away quickly when she caught Santana staring.

At first glance, Des didn't seem all that special. She was a little on the short side, with fiery red hair that tumbled down her shoulders in soft waves. Her pale arms were covered in freckles, as well as the bridge of her nose and cheeks, and her top teeth were a little crooked. Santana had also noticed a long scar above her left eyebrow that started in the middle and ended just before her hairline.

She stretched her legs behind her back, one at a time, then bent down to touch her toes. Santana had to remind herself to look away. She put her iPod back in her bag and decided to try and strike up a conversation to make up for being rude before. "What kind of name is Des?" she asked. She mentally slapped herself. "I mean..." She tried to salvage the situation but Des just smiled warmly at her. "My parents stuck me with Desdemona after Othello's wife. Ain't that awful? So I just tell people to call me Des or Mona." "Oh," Santana replied. She would have used a nickname too if her parents had named her something as awful as Desdemona. "You weren't here last time," Santana observed. She would have remembered that hair and those bright green eyes. "I didn't make it. I had a surprise visit from my sister," Des replied.

"Oh." Santana tried to figure out something to talk about. She normally had no problem talking to people, unless you count being involuntarily rude a problem. "Yeah, she does that. She likes to inspect my life and report back to our parents," she sighed. She sat down beside Santana. "Do you have siblings?" she asked. Santana shook her head. "No." "Oh, well, they're a blessing and a curse. On one hand I couldn't imagine my life without them, on the other I'd like to know what it's like to be an only child sometimes." Santana didn't know what to say to that. She had never really thought about what it would be like to have siblings. She was usually happy to be an only child.

It was quiet for a moment. Des stared up at the clock. "Why did you come so early?" Santana blurted. "I didn't mean to. I'm usually late for everything but I think my roommates messed with the clock." "Why would they do that?" Santana asked. Des shrugged. "I don't think they're particularly friendly. What brings you here so early?" she asked. "I came to practice," Santana replied, sounding more annoyed than she actually felt. "Well, don't let me stop you," Des said, gesturing to the empty floor in front of them. Santana felt her neck get warm but noticed that Des' cheeks had turned pink. "It's fine, there's only a few minutes until people start showing up," Santana replied.

A few minutes later the instructor arrived, followed by a wave of students. The short-haired woman dressed in all black turned her gaze to Des. "You," she said, squinting. "You weren't here last time." Des turned full red. "No, ma'am." "Why not?" Des gulped as the teacher stared. The rest of the class turned to stare as well. "Well?" "Family emergency," Santana lied. The instructor looked at her. "And how would you know?" "I asked her before class," Santana said. The instructor clucked her tongue and said no more on the subject. When she turned her back, Des mouthed a quick 'thank you' to Santana.

* * *

After class Santana put her dress back on while Des slipped back into her jeans. They were the last to leave. Des was waiting outside for Santana, drinking a bottle of water. "Hey," she said awkwardly. "Hi," Santana replied. They walked towards the subway in silence. "So, I don't want to seem weird or anything. I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out in there. I just kind of froze when everyone started staring at me," Des said. Santana shrugged. "No big deal," she said. Des smiled shyly and nodded. "Well, my apartment is just a couple blocks that way, so I guess I'll see you Thursday," she said. "See you Thursday," Santana replied. Des gave her a smile and waved as she walked past the stairs to the subway and disappeared from view.

Santana kept thinking about her all the way home. She had never met someone so awkward in her entire life. She didn't notice Kurt sitting on the couch, reading a magazine, when she walked in. "Have a good class?" he asked, making her jump. "What? Yeah, it was fine," Santana said. Kurt lowered the magazine. "What's with you?" he asked. "Nothing," Santana said, suddenly wishing she had her own room so she could have some privacy. She took off her shoes and strolled into Rachel's room, where she was keeping her clothes, and picked an outfit. Kurt followed. "Stop following me, Lady Hummel," Santana huffed. "Not until you tell me what's going on," he said. Rachel perked up. "What's going on?" she asked. "That's what I'm trying to find out," Kurt replied. Santana rolled her eyes and barreled past Kurt.

They both followed her into the bathroom. "You seem...far away," Kurt said. "Is something wrong?" Rachel asked, concern flooding her eyes. "I'm fine, I'm just tired and I have to work tonight," Santana said. Kurt crossed his arms, unrelenting. Santana was done talking, though, and really did have to work. She took off her dress. Kurt stubbornly stayed where he was, determined to call her bluff. She calmly pulled one arm out of her leotard. Rachel pulled on Kurt's arm and he finally followed her out. "I'll find out eventually," he called.

Santana rolled her eyes and stepped into the steaming water. It felt good to let all her worries and fears wash away with the sweat, even if only for a little while. She hummed a random tune as she washed her hair and she suddenly felt lonely. She'd had no one to hold her except for her girlfriend pillow for ages. She needed human interaction. Badly.

She finished her shower and dried off. As she got ready she took care to make sure she looked extra hot, hoping to pick someone up at the end of the night. When her hair and makeup were done to smokin' hot perfection and she was satisfied with her appearance, she left the damp, steamy bathroom. Rachel and Kurt sat in the living room in their usual roommate meeting positions. Rachel sat up straight. "Santana, we..." "Save it," Santana interjected, looking around for her purse. Rachel frowned and exchanged a look with Kurt. Santana stopped and faced her friends. "Look, I get that you're just concerned and I appreciate that. I really do. But sometimes people just need a little privacy. I don't go digging into every aspect of your life. I expect you to extend the same courtesy."

Her roommates exchanged another look. "Santana, you went to ridiculous lengths to prove to Rachel that Brody was bad news. You called Finn here. AND you caught Brody in a trap so Finn could beat the crap out of him!" Kurt pointed out. "That was different," Santana argued. "How?" Kurt asked, folding his arms over his chest. "Because I had a bad feeling about him and my psychic Mexican third eye is never wrong." Rachel and Kurt rolled their eyes and gave each other an exasperated look. "We just want to make sure you're okay. We care about you," Rachel said. "I'm fine. I just..." She sighed and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "I may be having some difficulty getting over Britt and it's been hard being alone. I just miss her."

Before Santana knew what was happening she was engulfed in a group hug. "Oh, Santana, we know it's hard. But you are beautiful and talented and a really good person deep down," Rachel said. "Deep, deep down," Kurt agreed. "And it's New York! You'll find a girl, I know you will." Rachel smiled reassuringly. Santana couldn't help but smile and count herself lucky to have two wonderful, annoying friends.

* * *

**So, thanks for reading. I know that this was different than the idea I talked about before but I've been having hardcore Santana feels. Anyway, basically I've just kind of accepted that Brittana has broken up and all I really want is for Santana to be happy. If you liked this let me know and I'll continue. (:**


	2. One Night Stand

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**Not Safe For Work/School!  
**

* * *

The bar had been packed all night, as usual. It was last call and Santana was getting antsy. There weren't many women left and of those few, even less that Santana found remotely attractive. One of the cute ones walked over and ordered one last round of tequila shots for her friends and one for herself. The six of them took them at the same time and slammed the glasses back down on the bar. Five of them went off to dance before the bar closed but the brunette at the bar stayed.

Santana smiled at her. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked. "Better not. I don't want to drink too much," the girl replied. "Designated driver?" Santana asked, looking confused. She had never seen anyone actually drive their own car to a bar in New York City. The girl grinned and shook her head. "No, I'm just a crazy drunk," she replied. Santana grinned flirtatiously. "Sounds fun," she said. The other girl gave her sly grin. "Maybe I _will_ have a drink. Three tequila shots," the girl said. Santana filled three shot glasses with tequila. The girl slapped down some cash. "It's on me," Santana told her. The girl took all three shots in rapid succession without breaking eye contact. "So, what's your name?" the girl asked. "Santana." The girl cocked an eyebrow. "Is that your real name?" she asked.

Santana smirked and leaned closer, letting her cleavage show as she wiped down the bar. "Yeah, it is," she answered. "Sexy," the other girl said, smirking back. Her cheeks were pink as she ordered a few more shots. "What's _your_ name?" Santana asked. "Erin," the girl replied, casually brushing her long brown hair back to better reveal her low cut top. Santana felt that familiar rush just before doing something exciting. Erin's friends came back over, falling over themselves. "Erin, come on. It's time to go," said a tall girl with short blonde hair. "Go. I'll catch up," she told them. So they left. A few last stragglers were all that remained.

"Do you wanna come over to my place?" Erin asked quietly, leaning forward a little. "Wait for me outside," Santana replied. Erin obeyed and Santana finished up. She put the money for Erin's drinks in the register, counted her tips, and said goodbye to her coworkers. Erin was waiting out by the street and hailed a cab when she spotted Santana. The two of them got in and Erin gave the driver her address. The driver hit the gas and Erin immediately locked her lips onto Santana's.

* * *

The driver stopped in front of Erin's apartment and she paid the fare. She led Santana into the building and caught the elevator. The lobby was dead so early in the morning and they had the elevator to themselves. As the doors closed, Erin pushed Santana against the back wall and kissed her roughly. Santana felt herself get wet as Erin pushed her knee between Santana's legs. Santana moaned as Erin felt slowly up her thigh before teasingly rubbing her clit through her panties. Erin grinned and kissed down Santana's neck, between her breasts, and back up to her lips as she continued teasing Santana.

Erin's apartment was really nice, though not very big. Santana let her lead her to the bedroom and then took charge. She took Erin's top off and threw it across the room. She gently pushed her onto the bed and undid her pants. Slowly, Santana took them off and tossed them aside. She waited until Erin was completely undressed before taking her own clothes off. She pinned Erin down to the bed, brought her right leg up between Erin's thighs, and slowly kissed Erin all down her neck. She peppered the girl's chest with kisses, then took Erin's nipple into her mouth, caressing it with her tongue. Erin gasped and moaned as Santana lightly tugged on her nipple with her teeth, all the while rolling and pinching the other one between her fingers.

Erin sat up and tried to take over. "Please," she moaned. Santana smirked. She loved it when they begged. She let Erin kiss her stomach, trailing all the way down. Erin looked up grinning as she pulled Santana onto the bed with her. "Come here," she said, pulling lightly on Santana's legs. Santana obeyed. "You scoot over there," Erin commanded. Santana did as she was told, though she was used to calling the shots. Erin positioned herself between Santana's legs. "Have you ever done this before?" she asked. Santana nodded. She was _very_ familiar with scissoring. "Good." Erin smirked and started grinding her sex against Santana's. They fell into a steady rhythm. Santana rolled her head back and moaned as Erin upped the pressure. Gradually the rhythm got faster until Erin suddenly slowed almost to a halt. "No, don't stop!" Santana cried out, but Erin only smirked.

"Lay back now. I'm gonna finish you off the way I want you to finish me off," she told her. Santana laid back and let Erin tease her nipples. She slowly trailed hot, wet kisses down Santana's stomach and then spread her legs apart. She kissed up both thighs before gently caressing her tongue in slow circles around Santana's clit. Santana struggled to be still. Her back arched involuntarily and her toes curled. "_Ohhhhh_!" she moaned. That's when Erin stopped and slid two fingers inside her. Slowly she slid them in and out, curving them at exactly the right spot. Santana cried out again and again. "_Faster_," she begged, but Erin denied that request. She was so close and she desperately wanted release. "_Ohhh_!" Erin leaned forward once more and sucked hard on Santana's clit. She sped the rhythm of her fingers up. "_Oh, God, yes! Suck it! Fuck! Don't stop!_" Santana moaned. Her legs began to shake and she couldn't control her body any more. She bucked against Erin's tongue and came.

* * *

Santana could hardly believed what had just happened. She suddenly realized that she had just had her first one night stand in New York City. By the time both of them were worn out the sun was breaking through the darkness, tinting the sky pink and gold, and the bed was soaking wet in some places. Erin had just fallen asleep when Santana quickly threw on her clothes and quietly snuck out of her apartment.

Rachel was awake when Santana came in and Kurt was passed out on the couch. "Where have you been!?" Rachel hissed. "We've been worried sick!" "Sorry, I went out after work," Santana replied, feeling her neck get warm. "What do you mean you went out? Nothing is open at 3AM!" "Fine, make me say it. I went home with someone." The look on Rachel's face was priceless. "You went home with a stranger!?" Santana rolled her eyes. "It's not a big deal, okay? Stop being so dramatic," Santana snapped. Rachel didn't push it anymore but she acted different after that.

Santana went to wash up. She knew that Rachel would tell Kurt and then they'd end up having another meeting where they basically called her a slut...but only out of concern, of course. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew they were right. Going home with some stranger she met in a bar was stupid and what was worse was she didn't feel any less lonely. In fact she felt even worse than she had before. A random stranger could never make up for what she'd had with Brittany and she knew that now. In her heart she had loved Brittany and still did. No rebound could change that. What she needed was a real relationship. She needed someone to share her world with and one thing was certain: she wouldn't find it at Coyote Ugly.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and it wasn't too explicit...**


	3. Coffee Shop Advice

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

The next day Rachel and Kurt called for a roommate meeting. Santana tried to keep her cool but all these meetings were ridiculous. She sat down and waited. Kurt spoke first. "Rachel and I are very concerned for you," he said. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I messed up, it won't happen again," Santana said shortly. "Santana, this is serious," Rachel said. "I know, okay? Trust me. I'm aware that sleeping with a stranger I met in a bar is a bad thing." Rachel rested a hand on her knee. "Look, I know that missing Brittany must be really hard for you, Santana." "Yeah, we both know how it feels to love someone so much and it not work out the way you wanted it to." Rachel was nodding fervently at Kurt's words. "But it's no excuse to throw yourself around and have meaningless sex," she added.

"No one said anything when that's what Jason Segel's character did in Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Santana complained. "That's a movie, okay. This is real life and we're your real friends. We just want to help," Rachel said. She and Kurt exchanged a look. "Which is why we have decided to set you up with an acceptable girl of our choosing," Kurt told her. "Excuse me?" Santana looked at Rachel. "Did I hear Lady Hummel correctly?" "We want to help..." "You don't get a say in who I date. It's none of your business." Santana was furious. Who did they think they were?

"Santana, please calm down. We just want you to be happy. We're only trying to help," Rachel pleaded. Kurt nodded. "And the girl we've chosen is really sweet," he promised. "Count me out," Santana replied coldly. She grabbed her purse and stomped out of the apartment.

* * *

Two blocks down was a 24 hour coffee shop that she had visited a few times to wind down after work. She walked in immediately and ordered a latte with double espresso. She was so tired but going back to the apartment to try and get a nap was not happening. At least not until the wonder twins were in class.

She took out her phone while she waited for her coffee order. She had no one to text really so she looked through her pictures. Tears stung at her eyes as picture after picture portrayed happier times. Times with Brittany. Her face was everywhere and it hurt to even think her name. "Santana," a bored barista called. She stuffed her phone back in her bag and grabbed her coffee. She nearly ran into someone as she went to find a table. "Oof, sorry," the person said. "Don't worry about it," Santana replied flatly. It wasn't until the other person said, "hey, it's you," that Santana bothered to look at her.

Standing in front of her, grinning, was Des. "Oh, hey," Santana said, trying to find a way out of talking to her. "Come here often?" Des asked with a sly smile. "Are you hitting on me?" Santana asked. "I was...it was a...a joke, kind of...ice breaker..." Des' cheeks were red. Suddenly Santana felt bad. Des must think she's so rude. "Sorry, I just...It's not my morning," Santana sighed. Des held up her hands. "It's cool. I tend to get weird when I get nervous." "What are you nervous about?" Santana asked. Des turned even redder. "Nevermind. I'm gonna grab a seat. You can join me if you want but I doubt I'll be good company," she told her. Des smiled. "Sure. Thanks."

When Des had gotten her coffee and made her way to Santana's table, she sat down with a smile. "So, what's eatin' ya, if you don't mind my askin'?" "Okay, first of all, where are you even from? You sound like a deep fried truck driver," Santana said before she could stop herself. To her surprise, Des laughed. "I've never heard that one before. I'm from North Carolina. Boone to be exact." "Does everyone talk like that in Boone?" Des shrugged. "I guess most people do. My mom and sister talk like proper southern ladies but my dad has a deep drawl like mine, though he's not much of a talker. My brother doesn't talk much either, really." "So what happened to you?" Santana asked. Des smiled. "Country music," she replied.

Des took a sip of her coffee. "So...somethin' buggin' ya?" Santana frowned. "My roommates," she answered. Des nodded sympathetically. "I feel ya. My roommates...well...they don't seem too fond of me." "My roommates care about me _too_ much," Santana told her. She didn't know what it was about the ginger sitting across from her, but she felt comfortable enough to talk to her honestly. "They're trying to set me up with a blind date...some girl from their school," she said. She hadn't realized she'd said 'girl' at first, then quickly looked up to gauge Des' reaction. "Did they tell you anything about her?" Des asked. If Santana had shocked her at all, Des never showed it. "Just that she's sweet," Santana answered.

Des grimaced. "Sweet is usually a cover for ugly," she said. Santana smiled. "But what do I know? Maybe she's a knockout. You'll never know if you don't give it a chance." Santana shrugged. "I get what they're doing and I appreciate it but I need to do this on my own," she said. Des nodded. "Did you, like, just come out or..." "I've been out for a while. It's just that when I went to college, I stupidly tried to keep things going with my girlfriend, who got held back, and then realized that it might not be a good idea. So I told her we should take a break and see what happens in the future. Well, now she's dating this idiot and I dropped out of college to move to New York...where I have become a bartender at Coyote Ugly and a cage dancer at a club."

Des took another long sip of coffee. "I'm starting to think I shouldn't have left her." Santana couldn't look at Des. She didn't know why she was telling her all this. She barely knew her. "Maybe it'll all work out and maybe it won't. Truth is, you make your bed an' you gotta lay in it. Lie in it. Whatever the right grammar is, you get my point. Maybe the person...guy...girl...whoever she's seeing now and whoever you end up seeing in the future are just pitstops. Then again maybe you two were meant to be lessons for each other. There's no way of knowin' just yet."

Santana raised her eyebrows in confusion but Des smiled patiently. "Someday you'll know what was always meant to be. Perhaps you'll find your way back to the one that got away, or might be you meet a new girl and she sweeps you off your feet. You've got time. Don't rush it and try not to think too far ahead. Date people. Experience stuff. Live your life. You're only young once and how on earth will you ever be old and wise if you're never young and stupid?" It was the weirdest but truest advice Santana had ever received. "Thank you," she said, smiling a little.

"So what's with you?" she asked to get the subject off of her and maybe offer up some friendly advice. "Whadaya mean?" Des asked, drinking her coffee idly. "With the roommates," Santana explained. "Oh, that. Well, I have three. Two of 'em are tryin' to break into modeling and the other wants to be a ballerina. They're all snooty and think they're better than me. Nothin' I ain't already used to," Des answered with a shrug. "You just put up with it?" Des nodded and drained her coffee. "Why don't you stick up for yourself?" Santana asked. Des shrugged. "It just don't bother me. Never has. I've always just been myself and if people didn't like it they didn't have to be my friend. Besides, I only live there because the rent is cheap since it's split between four people and my parents weren't comfortable giving up full control. I was gonna rent an apartment above a Chinese restaurant in Harlem but as soon as a roach crawled across my mama's shoe she flipped her shit and I ended up in Bushwick with three snobs."

"Wait, you live in Bushwick? When I saw you after class you said your apartment was a few blocks away," Santana said, confused. Des went pink. "Yeah, I got nervous. I didn't want you to think I was a stalker or something so I walked until I couldn't see you anymore and got a cab." Santana didn't know what to say to that so she decided to offer up some advice of her own.

"Well, since you gave me some advice, let me return the favor." She leaned in closer which made Des blush. "If you let people treat you like a nobody that's exactly what you'll be. Never let anyone walk all over you. _Never_." Santana leaned back and drained her coffee.

* * *

**Ahhh! Thank you for reading! I hope it was acceptable!**


	4. Not So Blind Date

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

Santana crashed as soon as she laid down on the couch and didn't stir until Rachel came in. "What time is it?" she asked groggily. "Two thirty," Rachel replied. "Where's Kurt?" Santana asked, sitting up and stretching. "He had to go help Isabelle with something. He'll be home in about an hour," Rachel answered. "Oh. Okay." She stood up and went to the refrigerator. She took out a bottle of water and sipped it, hoping to wake herself up a bit. "Can we talk about this morning?" Rachel asked tentatively. "Don't you want to wait for Hummel? I'm sure he wants to be in on this action." Rachel frowned. "This isn't a meeting, okay, I'm coming you as a friend."

Santana sighed and twisted the cap back onto her water. "Let me go first," she said. Rachel nodded respectfully. "First of all, I am a grown woman and my sexual exploits are none of your business. Second, while I appreciate your concern and value your friendship, it's not your place to decide that I'm living my life wrong. And you don't get to decide who I date." She gave Rachel a hard look that made the smaller girl shrink back slightly. "However, with some guidance, I have decided that I would at least like to know more about this girl you and Gaylord McFairydust want to hook me up with." Rachel smiled. "Really?" Santana half smiled. "Really."

"That's amazing, Santana. I'll wait for Kurt on that, but I _am_ curious as to who gave you such sage advice," Rachel admitted. "Just this girl I met in my dance class. She's...kind of weird but actually pretty cool." "Aww, you're making friends!" Rachel squeaked. Before Santana could react, Rachel had grabbed her into a bear hug. "Get off me, Berry!" Santana roared. Rachel stepped back but the grin never left her face.

* * *

On Saturday morning Santana found herself staring at a tri-board loaded with information written in glitter pen. Kurt and Rachel both held pointers. "Her name is Callidora Papadopoulos." Kurt pointed to the very top. "But she prefers Calli." Rachel pointed below. "She was born in Volos, Greece and moved to New York City at the tender age of seven." Kurt slapped at the map as Rachel spoke. "She fell in love with Broadway immediately and at the age of ten, announced her intention of becoming a legend." Kurt nodded vigorously and added, "she officially came out of the closet at the age of sixteen to less than thrilled parents." "We'll let her fill in all the details," Rachel interjected. "And now, here she is at NYADA. Just trying to make it on Broadway and gain the acceptance of her family."

The wonder twins smiled wide and waited for Santana to speak. They had glued a few pictures of Calli to the board. Santana got up to inspect closer. She had short dark hair, dark brown eyes, and flawless olive skin. In most of the pictures she had a natural smouldering look that made Santana think she should be in magazines. She was definitely attractive.

"How long have you known her?" Santana asked casually, not wanting to give away any emotion. "We met in dance class," Kurt said. "Then Kurt introduced her to me over coffee a few weeks later." Santana pursed her lips. "Fine, I'll go on a date with this girl. _One_ date. And I'm not making any promises," she said. Kurt and Rachel clapped and jumped up and down in their excitement. Kurt pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. When he found who he was looking for, he pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear. A few seconds later there was an answer.

Santana watched as he grinned and talked to the girl. "Hi, Calli, it's Kurt...I'm wonderful, thanks. How are you?...Good! I was actually calling because I have a proposition for you...I have a roommate who has recently decided to stop pining over her ex-girlfriend and put herself out there. Unfortunately, she's not very good at that but I thought you two might get along...Her name is Santana, she's a spicy Latina with a heart of gold. Deep, deep, deep down. Rachel and I told her all about you and she would _love_ to meet you...Sure, I'll text you her number and you two can make arrangements to meet up at your leisure...Bye." Santana rolled her eyes. "You sound like you're trying to sell me in a newspaper ad. Also, I never said I would _love_ to meet her, just that I would."

Kurt wasn't listening. He was texting her number to Calli.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Santana got her first text from Calli.

_Hi. Im kurts friend. He said you were interested in mtng me._

Santana bit her lip and replied.

_How does dinner sound?_

_Gr8. Two boots at 7?_

_Sure. C u there._

Santana wasn't sure what to expect, which made her nervous. At the same time, she was excited.

* * *

Five minutes past seven, Santana was standing outside of the pizza joint waiting for Calli. Five more minutes passed and Santana wondered if she had read the text wrong. She went back through her texts and checked. Five more minutes and Santana was getting nervous. Another five and she was getting annoyed. _Five more minutes and I'm gone_, she thought angrily.

Just as she was about to walk back to her apartment, she heard her name. "Santana?" She turned to see a tall, olive-skinned girl with short, dark hair looking at her nervously. Santana wanted to tell her she was late, but she was trying to work on being rude. "Calli?" she asked instead. The girl smiled. "I'm sorry I'm late. I wasn't sure I was going to come," she admitted. Her voice was softer than Santana had expected and there wasn't a trace of a Greek accent. "Really? Why?" Santana asked as she opened the door for her date.

"Well, for one thing, Kurt and Rachel are my friends and if this didn't work out I didn't want things to be weird. And then, of course, I was nervous. I mean, Kurt told me you're still getting over your ex..." Santana nodded. "Yeah, I understand. I was nervous, too. And when they told me they wanted to set me up with someone _they_ found I was furious because it was like they don't think I can handle myself. But maybe they're right." Calli smiled.

* * *

Once they'd gotten over the nervous tension, Calli was actually a pretty cool person. Though she talked about Broadway almost as much as Rachel did. "Sorry, I'm talking too much. Tell me what you're into," Calli said when they were almost done eating. Santana couldn't think of much to say. The only things she had ever been _that_ passionate about were dancing and Brittany. She thought for a second and shrugged. "I love dancing. I always have. It was the one girly thing I liked as a kid." Calli smiled at that.

"So, Kurt and Rachel never told me what you do," Calli said. Santana frowned. "I work at Coyote Ugly most nights and the nights I don't, I'm a cage dancer," she said, looking up to see her reaction. Calli raised her eyebrows and nodded. Things were a little awkward after that, though Calli remained perfectly polite and interested in what Santana was saying. But Santana could feel the shift in the air and she knew that Rachel and Kurt didn't tell her because they figured she would be weirded out by it. Or because they were ashamed of it.

Things got better when Santana changed the subject. "So, do you like NYADA?" Calli beamed. "I love it. I mean, it's a really big challenge but that's part of what makes it so amazing. Most of the professors are really hard on everyone and I think that throws a lot of people off, but I get why they do it and I appreciate it, you know? It's only to make us better." Santana nodded. She'd had an earful of that when Rachel had come home to tell them what Cassie had done for her.

"I'm surprised you haven't tried to get in," Calli said, sipping her drink and peering into Santana's eyes. "Well, I'm taking an extension dance class. I'm feeling out my options and stuff," Santana replied. She didn't want to admit that she didn't know what the hell she wanted to do with her life, even though Isabelle had told her there was no shame in taking time to figure it out. Calli nodded. "I totally get that. I knew I wanted to go to NYADA when I was eight, but I have a cousin who took a year and traveled before going to college. He said it was the best idea he ever had." Santana couldn't help but smile.

* * *

A few hours later they stood in front of the subway. "I had a really nice time tonight," Calli said shyly. "Me too," Santana told her. It was quiet for a moment, then Santana decided to go for it. She kissed Calli lightly on the lips. "I'll call you," she said. Calli's cheeks went pink. "I'll answer," she said. Santana watched as Calli descended the steps to catch her train before walking back to the apartment.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please don't hesitate to review or send me a private message. I always try to respond in a timely manner. Also, I set up a tumblr account for my fan fiction, so if you're interested the url is ihartteenjesus. tumblr .com (without the spaces). Feel free to ask questions (anon or not) or talk to me on there.**


	5. Sushi And A Show

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

_**A/N:**_ **Per request I am going to start separating dialogue to make it easier to follow (especially for those whose native language is not English).**

* * *

Rachel and Kurt had been unbearable. Santana had regretted acting so happy as soon as she saw the stupid grins on Gay and Gayer's faces.

"So you're going to see her again?" Rachel asked.

"Yes."

"When?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know."

This had gone on for quite some time before Santana had finally had all she could stand and told them she was going out for some air. She had, of course, ended up at her favorite coffee shop. She ordered her usual latte.

"Name?" the barista asked.

"Santana."

She turned to step out of the way so the person behind her could order. She instantly recognized the long, copper waves. Des turned and smiled at her after ordering a caramel machiato.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me," she joked.

"No, just escaping my roommates," Santana replied.

"Santana!" the barista called.

Santana grabbed her latte. "So, that's your name, then? You never told me," Des said.

"I didn't?"

Des shook her head.

"Well, my name is Santana."

Des smiled. "Good to know. And it's a gorgeous name."

"Well, it's certainly better than Desdemona," Santana laughed.

Des laughed until she was pink and her eyes were watering.

"That it is," she agreed.

* * *

"So what are you doing here?" Santana asked as they sat down at a small table by a window.

"Same as you, really. I have some work I need to get done and I like the atmosphere better here than at my apartment."

"Oh, what kind of work?" Santana asked awkwardly.

She realized she barely knew this girl but they always seemed to end up having coffee and chatting like old friends.

"I'm a teacher," Des answered. "I have papers to grade."

Santana gave her a disbelieving look. Des was only an inch or two taller than Rachel and looked to be their age. How could she be a teacher?

"You don't look old enough to teach," Santana said bluntly.

"Well, aren't you sweet as can be! I'm 22, just graduated from Appalachian State University with a bachelor's in elementary education. I teach third grade. I would have taught fifth, but most of them are the same height as me and I just don't think that's fair."

Santana laughed.

"I'm serious! Kids are huge these days, even the city kids."

Des grinned at Santana's laughter.

"So, what's going on with you?" Des asked, taking a stack of papers out of her bag and fishing for a pen.

"I took your advice and went out with that girl," Santana told her.

Des smiled at her and looked genuinely interested.

"Yeah? How'd it go?" she urged.

Santana smiled. "It went really well. Her name's Calli. She's actually really cool."

"And attractive?" Des asked, grinning as she began grading the first paper.

"Yeah. Very attractive," Santana said, sipping her latte.

"Keep talking. I promise I'm listening," Des told her, looking up to give her an encouraging smile.

So Santana kept talking while Des graded papers and periodically looked up and smiled or asked a question.

"My roommates keep pestering me to call her, but I feel like I should wait a little while. I mean, I know she liked me because she let me kiss her, but I think she was a little...turned off by my jobs..."

"Well maybe she's just intimidated," Des suggested, marking an incorrect answer.

"By the fact that I'm a cage dancing bar tender?" Santana asked.

"No. By the fact that you're gorgeous and could have anyone you wanted. I'd wager the bar tending doesn't scare her so much as the cage dancing. It sounds worse than it is," Des explained.

Santana didn't know how to respond to that. She also couldn't tell if Des was into her or not. In her silence, Des looked up at her with those gorgeous green eyes.

"When was your date?" she asked.

"Last night," Santana replied.

"Give it two days, then call her up. Tell her you're sorry you haven't called but you got busy and that you would love to go out again."

"But she's friends with my roommates," Santana countered.

"Appear busy. Lie. Tell your roommates you got called in to work. Just trust me, do not call until it's been at least two days or you'll seem desperate and clingy."

Santana wasn't sure what credentials Des had to make her some kind of dating expert, but she nodded and took her advice to heart.

* * *

The next night was dance class, and Santana was almost as excited to hang out with Des as she was about dancing. She got to class a little early and was disappointed when Des wasn't there yet. She hoped for her sake that she wouldn't be late. She walked in a few minutes later already wearing a leopard print leotard and black shorts. She smiled at Santana and made her way over.

"I actually really like that leotard," Santana said.

It was fairly low-cut so underneath, Des had put on a black lacy camisole. It helped, but Santana could still easily see Des' freckled chest.

"Thanks," Des replied cheerfully.

Just then Santana's phone buzzed. She looked to see that Calli had texted her.

_R u free tonight?_

Santana pursed her lips and tried to think of what to say. Des noticed her distress.

"What's up?" she asked.

Santana showed her the text.

"Help," she asked.

Des smiled. "Tell her that class is about to start and you have to go in to wok tonight. If she asks for details, which she won't, say one of the other bar tenders got sick."

Santana did as Des instructed, then got worried that she might have blown a major chance. Des seemed to notice her fear.

"Don't worry. Guys do this to girls all the time and the girls still want to date the guys. It's not playing hard-to-get."

Santana frowned. "It kind of feels that way, though."

Des shrugged. "I like to think of it in terms of fishin'. When you're sittin' on the bank down by some muddy lake and you're tryin' to get a big, fat catfish, you gotta use the right bait. You could use a worm if you wanted, but every good fisherman knows that catfish go ape-shit for chicken livers."

Santana scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Ew. What was the point in that, aside from making me want to hurl?"

Des laughed. "What I'm trying to say with my super obscure, awkward, round-about fishing reference is that you gotta do a little extra work to really make her swaller the bait."

"Did you just say swaller?"

"Yes, in yankee I believe it's pronounced swallow," Des chided.

Santana smiled.

"So what do I do?"

* * *

The plan was simple and worked brilliantly. Two days later Santana was leaving the theater with Calli squeezing her hand gently as she gushed over the show.

"Did you like it, Santana?" Calli asked.

"It was really fun," Santana admitted.

They had gone to see Newsies, which Calli had seen twice but loved it so much she was ecstatic to go again. Santana had been surprised by how much she had liked it, considering she thought it looked kind of boring when reading the description online. She had realized she was wrong the first time they danced.

"The dancing is superb, isn't it?" Calli gushed, squeezing Santana's hand without noticing.

"It really is," Santana agreed, grinning.

"So, what's next?" Calli asked, batting her long eyelashes.

"Sushi. I've never tried it, but I remember you said you like it," she answered.

Calli's deep brown eyes seemed to melt. "That's so sweet," she said.

Santana smiled, satisfied.

They walked to a nearby sushi place that a coworker had suggested and got a table.

"I've never been to this place before," Calli said, browsing the menu.

"It came highly recommended from a sushi obsessed coworker so I hope it lives up to your expectations," Santana told her, trying not to look grossed out by the menu descriptions. Raw fish is _not_ something that sounds appetizing.

All the same, Santana ordered some California rolls and silently prayed she wouldn't gag when she ate it. Luckily, she kept a straight face.

"Do you like it?" Calli asked, picking up another roll.

"It's...not bad," she fibbed.

Whether Calli knew she wasn't being honest or not, Santana didn't know. Calli just smiled and took a sip of her drink.

* * *

After dinner they made their way to the subway. Calli entwined her fingers into Santana's as they boarded the train in silence. The ride wasn't very long and Santana got off at Calli's stop, which was only four blocks away from her own apartment. Neither of them said a word as they walked to Calli's building. They stopped in front of the building door.

"I had fun," Santana said.

"Me too," Calli replied shyly.

"I'll see you soon?" Santana asked.

"Oh, do you want to come up?" Calli asked with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

Santana was tempted. So tempted. But she wanted a lasting, true relationship, so she declined.

"I'd love to, but I'd better go. I'll call you tomorrow," she told her.

Calli nodded. "Okay."

Santana leaned in for a quick kiss that ended up being less than quick. Calli's cheeks were flushed and she smiled when Santana pulled away. She waved as she went into the building.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked this chapter. And remember, you can add me on tumblr (both my personal and fanfic blog can be found by viewing my profile; I can't post links on here no matter how I separate the words)!**


	6. Friendly Comfort

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

Santana and Calli texted almost constantly over the next few days. Their flirtatious banter helped Santana to think a lot less about Brittany, whom she hadn't heard from in a while. She found it strange and it made her sad. Though she felt as though she was moving on she still loved Brittany as a best friend. She found herself wondering what Britt was up to.

When Calli had to go to class, Santana decided to try her luck at the coffee shop. Maybe Des was there, as usual, with some helpful advice. She grabbed her bag and walked the few blocks to her favorite hideout. Lo and behold, Des was sitting in a corner, sipping on a huge cup of coffee and and writing in a notebook. Santana walked over.

"I need some advice. I'm going to order a drink. Please don't leave," she said in lieu of a greeting.

Des gave her a thumbs up and continued scribbling. Santana strolled over the the counter and ordered a caramel frappucino with extra caramel. When the barista called her name, she grabbed it and sat down in front of Des.

"What can I help you with today?" Des asked, finishing her sentence and closing the notebook.

"Have you ever...let me start at the beginning..."

Santana explained that she and Brittany had been best friends for a long time and that during their junior year she finally had the courage to tell Brittany that she loved her. She told her that they later started dating officially after she was outed.

"And when I left to go to school in Kentucky, we were still together. Then I did some thinking and I came to the conclusion that I was just getting my hopes up that it could actually work out while we were in different states. So I let her go but she's still my best friend."

Des listened patiently. "So what's the problem?"

"She got a perfect SAT score somehow and she's been touring all these colleges and she's dating Trouty Mouth and she hasn't spoken to me in a couple of weeks."

Santana buried her face in her free hand miserably. "So have you ever really loved someone but it didn't work out and then you try to stay friends but the other person seems to stop trying?"

Des frowned.

"I'm going to tell you a story. I don't know if it will really help you, but at least you'll know you're not alone."

She reached over and held Santana's hand as a supportive gesture.

"When I was fifteen years old my best friend Nate finally got the nerve to tell me he wanted to be more than friends. We had literally been best friends since we were four years old and I knew he liked me, I just prayed he'd get over it. But when he told me how he felt I felt so awful. I decided to give him a chance. I figured our friendship could withstand anything but I was wrong. We were together for almost a year and all that time I knew I was lying. To Nate, myself, and the rest of the world. It wasn't fair of me to do that because he was really sweet and treated me like a damn saint. I even sort of let him swipe my v-card..."

"What do you mean sort of?" Santana interjected. Des smiled and leaned back.

"I'm getting to that," she replied.

"Sorry," Santana said, frowning as Des' hand slipped away.

"So you can imagine how devastated he was when he tried to give me a promise ring and I had to tell him I was a lesbian."

Santana's eyes bugged out. She wasn't sure why she was surprised but she was. Maybe it was the way she had so casually admitted she was a lesbian. Maybe it was that now she understood what Des had meant by 'sort of'. Either way, Des grinned at her reaction.

"Oh yes, indeed. He handed me a ring box and I nearly tossed my cookies. He was so upset. I tried to calm him down. I still wanted to be friends but I had shamed him. In his initial rage he outed me, then he regretted it. One, because he felt guilty. And two, because he figured out that at least _some_ people would say that he turned me. Of course that wasn't the case. I had always been attracted to girls and when I was fourteen I had my first sexual experience with a girl."

"Fourteen?"

"It was at summer camp and her name was Dani Prescott," Des said dreamily. Then she shook her head and smiled. "But that's a different story for another time," she told her, winking.

"So what happened with Nate?" Santana asked.

"He apologized for outing me but we just couldn't seem to get back what we had," Des answered sadly.

Santana frowned and sipped her frappucino thoughtfully. Des leaned forward again.

"Try not to let it get you down. I know it's hard, but maybe she's just busy and will call you with all kinds of wonderful news soon. And by the way, who the hell is Trouty Mouth?"

Santana laughed in spite of herself. "Really his name is Sam but he has the biggest lips I've ever seen on a guy. I dated him before I got outed. Kissing him was like making out with a fish."

* * *

They sat in that coffee shop for over an hour, talking, laughing. They'd ordered more coffee and bought a huge chocolate muffin to split.

"So what were you writing when I came in?" Santana asked, nodding to the notebook by Des' elbow as she tore off a piece of muffin.

"Lesson planning," Des sighed.

"You don't like your job," Santana observed. Des looked thoughtful.

"There's so much that goes into it. You put in so much time and ninety-eight percent of the kids don't give a shit. Which is really bad considering I teach third graders. I mean, most of them do well and do their work but they just do it to get through. They don't really appreciate their education and the ones who do get picked on."

Santana could tell it was frustrating to Des.

"I care about the kids, I really do. But I feel like I work my ass off and don't earn near what I oughtta be makin'. I do alright, I mean, my bills are paid and I have food and I don't have to ask my parents for money all the time but that's mainly because I have three roommates."

Santana had no idea what to say. She had never thought about how hard teachers work or how little they were paid.

"It could be worse. I could not even have a job, especially in teaching. Still, it's not what I thought I would be when I got older and I certainly never thought I'd teach a bunch of ungrateful 8 and 9 year old snots with rich parents."

"What did you really want to be?" Santana asked.

"I wanted to sing. I wanted to move to Nashville, work my ass off, and get a record deal."

"So why didn't you?"

Des frowned. "My parents told me it wasn't practical. It was a nice dream but I needed to have a plan B in case it didn't work, which was most likely going to be the case. So I went and got a degree in elementary education because I love kids and if I couldn't be a singer, I could at least work with youngens."

Santana reached over and touched her hand.

"It's not too late, you know. You could do it," she told her.

Des smiled sadly.

"I think that ship has sailed, but it's alright. Maybe my plan B will work out."

"Teaching?"

"Teaching is just a job. What I really want is to get married and have a family of my own. And I'll never tell my kids that they have to have a plan B."

Santana smiled, amazed at how caring and genuine and passionate her new friend was.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it. :)**


	7. A Good Cry

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

When Sam had called, Santana knew it was about Brittany before he even said a word. When he told her what was going on, she knew she had to go home. She called her mom and got a ticket for the earliest flight she could get. She had a date with Calli that night so after dance class she rushed to get ready. They met up at a pizza place six blocks from Santana's apartment.

Santana was distracted. She was so worried about Brittany that she only heard about half of what Calli was saying. Calli noticed.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Santana muttered, coming back to reality.

"You seem...distracted. Is everything okay?"

"Oh. Sorry. It's just...I got a call from home and it's...I'm just worried about someone," Santana said vaguely.

Calli frowned.

"You can tell me," she said.

"It's my best friend. She's been acting weird and all of a sudden her boyfriend calls me and begs me to come figure it out. I'm going home tomorrow morning," Santana told her.

"Oh. I hope everything's alright," Calli replied.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm sorry about being distracted."

"It's okay. I understand."

Calli smiled gently and took Santana's hand.

* * *

When Santana returned from Lima, she texted Des in the cab. She didn't know what else to do.

_Coffee and muffins?_

_Already here._

Santana smiled. She had the driver take her back to her apartment so she could put her bags away and change clothes. Then she walked over to the coffee shop.

Des was sitting at a cozy table for two, reading a book. One coffee cup sat in front of her and another where Santana seated herself.

"You ordered me a coffee?" Santana asked, lifting it to her lips.

"That was here when I sat down," Des told her.

Santana quickly put it down.

"It was a joke. Sorry," Des said, smiling.

Santana rolled her eyes and took a sip. Des marked her page and stuffed her book into her bag.

"So, how was Lima?"

"Weird and heartbreaking," Santana admitted.

"Tell me," Des said gently.

So Santana spent the next ten minutes telling Des about what had happened with Brittany.

"She got early admission to MIT!? Holy shit, that's amazing!"

"Yeah, it's great," Santana said sadly.

Des frowned.

"Oh, sweetie. It's not the end. College is four years and I'm sure she'll keep in touch as best she can..."

This did nothing to ease Santana's pain. Des patted her hand awkwardly.

"I know it's none of my business..."

Santana looked up, giving her a skeptical look. If there was ever a time when she needed Des' weird sense of humor and obscure ways of giving advice, it was now, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be a hard pill to swallow.

"Go on..."

"Well, don't you think it might be good for Brittany to be on her own? I mean, she's always had you there to buffer for her and protect her but now she won't. I think she needs this in order to grow into her full potential. My mama always told me you'll never know who you are if you can't stand on your own two feet."

Santana hated to admit that Des knew what she was talking about. It was so hard to imagine life without Brittany.

"It's just so hard," Santana said, suddenly aware that something wet was running down her cheeks.

Des scooted closer and brought Santana's head down onto her chest. She stroked her hair gently and let Santana cry. People were starting to stare so Santana pulled herself together.

"Hey, um, Kurt stayed in Lima and Rachel is out trying to distract herself until she hears about her Funny Girl audition so, um, would you maybe come over? I just don't want to be alone right now."

Des took Santana's hand.

"Of course, sweetie, whatever you need."

* * *

Santana opened the door and led Des into the apartment. Des looked around as Santana slid the door closed.

"Oh my God, I love this apartment! It's so much cooler than mine!"

Santana would have smiled if she had it in her.

"Do you want something to drink?" Santana asked.

"Oh, no, thank you. I have a bottle of water in my bag," Des replied.

They sat down on the couch. Santana didn't know what to do or say. She just wanted the pain to go away.

"You know what I think would help?" Des said.

"What?"

"You need to get into the comfiest pajamas you own, watch a good sad movie, and cry like a little girl. It's what I do when I get really sad or homesick."

Santana changed into her favorite old flannel pajamas. She thought about bringing out her girlfriend pillow, but decided that she'd rather figure out how to get Des to hold her again.

When she came back into the living area, Des was looking through their movie collection. She turned and smiled when she heard Santana come in.

"Those do look comfy," she said. Santana smiled.

"What would you like to watch?" Des asked.

"You pick. I don't feel like making decisions," Santana replied, sitting on the couch and holding a pillow.

"I see you don't have _Steel Magnolias_, so I suppose we'll make do with _P.S. I Love You_."

Des put in the movie and sat down beside Santana. As Des made herself comfortable, Santana kept moving closer.

"Would it be weird for you to hold me like you did at the coffee shop?" Santana asked in a hushed voice.

"I don't think so," Des replied.

So Santana curled up beside Des and put her head on her chest. Des gently stroked her hair as they watched. It was soothing, and she especially appreciated when they both started crying. It eventually put Santana to sleep just as the credits began to roll. Des kept stroking Santana's hair as she gently hummed along to 'If I Ever Leave This World Alive' playing in the credits.

* * *

When Santana woke up Des was gone and Rachel was glaring at her. Santana's head was pounding and she wasn't sure she really wanted to fight. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Who was that, Santana?" Rachel asked angrily.

"Des."

"I know that. I mean who is she to you?"

Rachel's voice was calm but the anger was definitely there underneath.

"She's my friend. What are you so pissed about?" Santana asked, feeling a little angry herself.

"Calli called me, so upset, because she saw you with another girl at some coffee shop," Rachel said.

Santana's heart jumped into her throat as she realized how that must look.

"She said you were crying all over her and your face was in her boobs and she was stroking your hair," Rachel went on accusingly before Santana could explain.

Santana held up her hands to quiet Rachel. She needed to explain to Rachel so she could also explain to Calli.

"Let me explain something," Santana started.

Rachel crossed her arms stubbornly but didn't interrupt.

"Des has been a very good friend to me the past couple of weeks and that's all that is. I was really upset because when I went home Britt told me she got early acceptance into MIT and we wouldn't get to talk or see each other as much. It felt like losing my best friend and I just needed to talk about it. I never expected to start crying, it just happened. And Des is just the kind of person who wants to help any way she can. She was only being supportive."

"So why did I come in to find your head in her lap while she played with your hair and hummed to credits of _P.S. I Love You_?"

Santana rolled her eyes.

"She was trying to help! And it's working. I like hanging out with her; big deal!"

"It _is_ a big deal, Santana! You should have gone to Calli for support! She's your _girlfriend_," Rachel countered heatedly.

"So I'm not allowed to have friends because I have a girlfriend? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" Santana roared.

"That's not what I'm saying, Santana. Don't put words in my mouth!"

"What _are_ you saying, Dwarf?"

Rachel took a deep breath to calm herself down a little.

"I'm saying that when you're in a relationship, that's what the other person is there for. Your girlfriend is there to support you, appreciate you, build you up..."

"It's not like I wasn't going to talk to her about it. It's just hard to sometimes because she knows Brittany and I dated and I think it makes her uncomfortable. I don't want to hurt her or make her feel like Brittany and I aren't over. We're over. That doesn't mean I stop caring about her. We've been best friends for way too long to just drop her because we didn't work as a couple."

"Why are you telling me this? It's Calli you need to really explain yourself to," Rachel huffed.

"So you believe me?" Santana asked.

"Of course, I do. You're a lot of things, Santana, but I know you wouldn't cheat on someone you really care about."

Santana smiled.

"Thank you," she said, hugging Rachel.

* * *

**So, yeah. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Let me know if you were as surprised when you were reading as I was when I was writing it lol.**


	8. Santana Explains It All

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:** _Sorry this chapter is late. I went home this weekend for my best friend's college graduation and to go out with my mom and siblings on Mother's Day so I had no time to work on this. But I'm back in my apartment and can finish this baby up. Also, I'll proofread, but there might still be some mistakes. I have fake nails that need to be filed down and a sweet Iron Man bandaid on one of my fingers so typing is difficult. Anyway, without further ado...Chapter 8!_

* * *

Santana felt it would be a good idea to give Calli some time to cool off before trying to explain her relationship with Des. So she waited until the next day to call. When she got Calli's voicemail, she wondered if that had been a mistake.

"You've reached Calli. Leave a message at the tone and I'll call you back as soon as possible."

_Beep!_

"Hey, Calli, um, it's Santana. I was hoping we could talk soon. Please call me back."

She didn't hear back from her until the next day. Kurt had come in from class and set his bag down.

"I talked to Calli," he said.

"And?"

"She's none too pleased with you at the moment. I explained to her that all you wanted was a chance to explain what she had seen and she agreed to call you back today."

A few minutes later, Santana was sitting out on the fire escape explaining to Calli what she had explained to Rachel and later to Kurt.

"So, you see, it wasn't what it looked like. It's just a misunderstanding. I know it looked bad but Des just has this weird way of calming down and I didn't want to cry in front of you or make you feel uncomfortable."

Santana waited anxiously as Calli gathered her thoughts.

"I just don't know. I mean, it was such a shock. One minute I'm about to pick up some coffee and surprise you and the next I see you hanging onto some girl. I just don't know how I should feel right now."

"I swear to you, she's just a friend. She just understands what I'm going through and I know it seems weird because we've only known each other for a couple weeks but look at how fast you and I got together. Of course I wanted to talk to you about it, but sometimes people just need to talk to a friend first. I didn't want you to feel weird about Brittany."

"I just need some time to figure this out, okay?" Calli replied gently.

"Sure, I understand that."

"You're going to keep seeing her, aren't you?" Calli asked.

"Well, yeah, she's my friend."

"I'm not really comfortable with that," Calli told her.

Santana knew she should have expected that, but it was like a punch in the stomach.

"Are you asking me to choose between you and Des?"

Santana waited, holding her breath, praying it wasn't what it sounded like. Then, half a heartbeat later, "yes."

* * *

Santana buried her face in her hands and wished she had a bottle of tequila to drown her worries in. But she didn't. All she had was a massive latte and an oversized blueberry muffin.

Des was looking at her sympathetically across the table but Santana couldn't meet her eyes.

"Was I just kidding myself? I mean, did I honestly think I could be happy?"

"Maybe you're just not ready for another relationship, and that's okay," Des told her.

"Brittany and I broke up months ago," Santana sighed.

"Everyone moves at their own pace. You loved her and love is a hard emotion to get over. There's no set time limit for this kind of thing. When you're ready, you'll know," Des declared gently.

"I want to be ready. I'm so sick of feeling like this. I'm tired of being miserable. I'm tired of sleeping with a girlfriend pillow."

"Girlfriend pillow?"

"It's a pillow with an arm for cuddling. Kurt gave it to me. He even gave her a boob."

"How sweet of him."

Santana sipped her latte miserably.

"You'll get through this. I know you will. And I'll be right here, every step of the way."

Santana smiled and held onto Des' hand. Maybe a relationship wasn't really what she needed after all. Maybe what she needed was a good friend who would help her through until she was ready for love.

* * *

Rachel had been acting cold since she had informed them that she and Calli had decided things just weren't working out. Kurt had been desperately trying to keep the peace, but Rachel made it difficult. She constantly tried to get Kurt to pick a side, but he refused.

"We knew there was a chance that it wouldn't work out. We hooked them up and the rest was up to them," Kurt had told her multiple times.

During dinner, Rachel kept shooting Santana icy glares and finally Santana had had enough.

"Okay, Berry, you wanna play Ice Queen? Cool. I can play this game all day erryday. So lets me breaks it down for you. I am an adult. I don't need anyone to tell me what to do. I never cheated on Calli and I never would have. I have a friend who happens to be sweet and supportive and actually gives a crap about me. She listens, unlike you. I have _tried_ being nice to you, but for some reason, you've decided to take the side of a girl you've literally known for a few months over someone who gives a damn about you for reals. So, I'm done playing this little game. When you decide to get that stick out of your ass and be a real friend, call me up. I'll take _you_ out for coffee."

Santana slammed her napkin down and gulped back some water. She was feeling particularly angry. Rachel wasn't looking at her but her cheeks were red and her nostrils were flared. She was pissed. _Well good_, Santana thought.

"I think you should leave," Rachel said calmly.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Santana. Go."

"And where exactly am I supposed to go?" Santana asked.

"I don't know. Go home. Go stay with Des. I don't care but you can't stay here."

"Are you serious? All because I have one friend who made your insecure friend feel uncomfortable!?"

"Please just go, Santana," Rachel said.

Santana looked to Kurt but found only wide eyes and a mouth hanging down, stupid and useless.

She gathered her things quickly and left without a word. She called Des when she got to the bottom of the stairs.

* * *

"Santana? What's wrong?" Des asked.

Santana took a deep, calming breath and controlled the crying as best she could.

"I got into a huge fight with Rachel and she kicked me out. I don't know what to do," she whimpered.

"Oh, sweetie. Okay, it's okay. Listen, where are you right now?"

"I'm right outside my building...or what _used_ to be my building."

Santana sniffled and wiped away a tear angrily. A roll of thunder sounded overhead, deep and menacing. A few raindrops fell and washed over Santana's face before the heavens opened up to a downpour.

"It's raining," she cried.

"I'm coming," Des told her. "Just stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."

* * *

A taxi stopped in front of her a few minutes later and the door opened.

"Get in!" Des called over the whooshing of the rain and the rumble of thunder.

Santana slid her suitcase and pillow into the cab and went in after them. She hated herself for crying, but at least when she'd been in the rain no one could tell. Des asked the driver to take them back to her apartment. Neither of them said a word as the driver pulled off from the curb and headed towards Des' apartment.

Des paid the cab fare and led Santana up several flights of stairs. Santana lost count of how many after four and was grateful that Des had insisted on carrying her bag up for her. All Santana had to manage was herself and her pillow.

"Sorry about the stairs. I know they're hell. Our elevator is busted, but they're working on it."

Santana was feeling the burn in her legs but she wasn't about to complain. At least it was exercise.

"It's okay."

"You're certainly gettin' your cardio in for the day," Des joked.

They finally stopped to catch their breath at the end of a long corridor with two doors on each side.

"Mine's the second door on the left," Des told her.

Santana followed Des down the hall and waited as she opened the door to 7B.

Inside, the walls were light blue with white baseboards. A 35-inch flat screen was set up on a small entertainment center on the wall near the door. The kitchen was separated from the living room by an island counter with mismatched chairs. There was an archway the led to what Santana rightly guessed was a hallway. There were four doors. Des led her to the farthest one on the left. It was small and a little messy. There was a door that led into the bathroom and sliding doors for her closet.

"Sorry about the mess. I'm so disorganized."

"It's okay," Santana told her.

"Well, you're welcome to anything from my secret stash of sugary goodies. Just make yourself at home. I need to see if my roommates are home. You actually came at a good time. The two models are moving out and we're looking for a roommate."

Santana smiled and Des left to find her roommates.

* * *

An hour later, she and Des were sitting in Des' bed talking about what had happened. Santana had told her that Rachel was mad about what had happened with Calli, but Santana refused to apologize when she hadn't done anything wrong. Des had listened and nodded sympathetically.

"Well, maybe y'all just need some time apart from each other. I think Rachel will calm down eventually and realize that she should have been more understanding, but in the mean time you can stay with me. It's likely that y'all care about each other a lot but just can't live together and that's fine. Don't let it get you too upset."

Santana smiled. "Thanks," she said.

Des smiled and pat her hand.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Sorry for any typos! And remember to check my profile and add my tumblr. I'd be glad to answer any questions or just talk.**


	9. The Bigger Person

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:**_ So last chapter got some kind of negative feedback. I can understand that. I know it seemed random and over the top but I do have a reason for that and it's probably _not_ what you think it is._ ;)

* * *

Santana spent the night at Des' apartment. Between everything that had happened with Rachel and Calli and Brittany, she was emotionally exhausted. She hadn't been able to sleep at all with so many thoughts running through her mind. She couldn't help but wonder why she made a mess of everything she ever tried to do. Maybe it was karma for all the wrong she'd done in high school, but she had changed at least a little by senior year, and she felt that she had grown a lot even since then. Wasn't that enough?

Des stirred beside her. The clock read 9:21 in big red numbers. Des stretched and slowly sat up.

"Coffee?" she asked.

"Sure," Santana replied.

Des got up and started for the kitchen; Santana followed her. Des started brewing a pot of coffee as Santana sat in one of the mismatched island chairs. The scent of the coffee filled Santana's nose as she inhaled it deeply.

"Would you like some breakfast? And don't say no 'cause it's the most important meal of the day," Des said.

Santana smiled.

"You like eggs? I can make eggs and flapjacks and gravy or..."

"Make whatever you want. I'll eat."

So Des set to work, pausing only to fill two mugs off coffee and get out creamer and sugar. She hummed as she cooked, a song Santana didn't recognize.

* * *

Santana ate everything on her plate, though she thought it may have been a bad idea. She was pretty sure Des didn't care about how much fat was in what she cooked. Still, it was _so_ good.

"Where did you learn to cook like that?" Santana asked.

"My Mama and Granny, just like everyone else. You don't cook?"

Santana shrugged.

"Not like this," she said.

Des smiled and stacked their plates. She stood and went over to the sink.

"Oh, I can..."

"Don't worry about it," Des interrupted.

She quickly washed their dishes and poured some more coffee. She offered more to Santana.

"Thanks."

"Sure. So, what are your plans for this lovely Saturday mornin'?" Des asked.

"I don't know. I guess I should go get the rest of my stuff," Santana said, feeling nervous.

"Good, you can talk to Rachel."

Santana frowned. That was the _last_ thing she wanted to do. Des seemed to know this. She reached out to Santana and held her hand.

"You know what you need to do, Santana. You don't need me or anyone else to tell you. I know you don't want to, but you need to put your big girl panties on and just do it."

"Will you come with me?" Santana asked.

"Sweetie, there are some things in life that you have to do for yourself. I think you know that."

Santana nodded.

* * *

Kurt was rushing around looking for something when Santana walked in. He stopped to look up when she opened the door.

"Santana..."

"Where's Rachel?"

Kurt stared at her and blinked. He nodded to her room. Santana walked past him and knocked on Rachel's door.

"Hold on!" Rachel called.

A moment later, Rachel opened the door. She looked shocked to see Santana standing there.

"Santana, I..."

"Shut it, Berry, I'm here to apologize," Santana barked.

Rachel went and sat on her bed silently.

"Get in here, Porcelain!" Santana called.

Kurt came in and sat beside Rachel. Santana took a deep breath.

"Look, I know that you're upset because Calli is your friend and I unintentionally hurt her. I'm sorry for that. I never meant to hurt her, okay? And I didn't mean to hurt you in the process. I kind of feel like my life has been a mess since I moved to New York. I've been lost without Brittany and feeling alone. But I realize that I'm not alone. I have you two. And even though I have a weird way of showing it, I do love you guys and I'm glad that we can put high school in the past and leave it there. I'm really glad that I moved here because I have the chance to be close with you guys and to make new friends..."

Santana felt a little uncomfortable. Talking about feelings had never been her strong suit. Still, she kept going.

"Maybe you meet everyone for a reason and maybe you don't, but I know if I hadn't met Des I wouldn't be here apologizing to the two of you. I know that if I had never met either of you I wouldn't know how to really be a friend. So I'm sorry for everything that I've put you through and I hope that we're still friends because as much as I hate to admit it, I need you losers."

Rachel was smiling though tears rolled down her cheeks. Kurt had pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and was dabbing his eyes. Santana had to force herself not to roll her eyes. She was trying to be a better person after all.

"Thank you, Santana," Rachel said.

She stood to hug her.

"I'm sorry, too," she said, her voice muffled in Santana's hair. "I'm so sorry. I was so stressed about Funny Girl and living with you hasn't been the easiest thing in the world, but I know you care in your own way. I shouldn't have taken my stress out on you."

Santana motioned for Kurt to join in.

"Please come home," Rachel said softly.

"Are you sure?" Santana asked.

"Of course. I really did feel bad after you left."

"She cried all night," Kurt said.

Santana frowned. On one hand, she did want to come back. She loved Rachel and Kurt even if they were insanely annoying sometimes. On the other hand, Des' offer came with a room of her own. Privacy. She couldn't get that here.

"I'll think about it," she told them.

"What's there to think about?" Rachel asked, pouting.

"Well, a couple of Des' roommates are moving out. If I take their room, I'd actually have a bedroom of my own. I wouldn't have to sleep on the couch. I could come home from work and sleep in my own bed. I mean, I love you guys, but having some privacy outside the bathroom would be nice."

Rachel, Kurt, and Santana stood in a tiny circle, looking from one to the other and holding hands as Santana's proposal sank in.

"But you barely know her. What if she's really a psycho?" Rachel asked.

"People room with strangers all the time. When I lived in the dorms in Kentucky, I roomed with a complete stranger. Besides, she's a teacher. No principal would let a psycho hang around a bunch of third graders," Santana pointed out.

Rachel still wasn't happy.

"It's your decision, Santana. Kurt and I just want you to be happy."

"You sound like my Mami. I'll take a couple of days and stay with Des while I decide."

"If you decide to take that other room, you'll still hang out with us, right?" Rachel asked.

"Of course, I will. We'll hang out all the time."

Rachel smiled, though a little sadly.

"No matter where I end up in this city, I'll always make time for you and Kurt," Santana promised.

* * *

**So that's Chapter 9. Hopefully now you understand that I did what I did for some character development. Coming up soon, you'll find out about Funny Girl!**


	10. Breakfast & Awkward Situations

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N1:** _I most likely will not update after this for at least a week as I'm going to the beach. I might decide to actually hand write a chapter or two while I'm gone and then type it up when I come home but idk. We'll just see. I just wanted to let everyone know that I wouldn't be updating for a bit._

**A/N2:** _To Phoenix, who reviewed the last chapter, I sincerely wish I could message you, but since you're a guest I have to thank you in a note in the chapter. So thank you. Your review made me feel so much better and is the reason I started working on this chapter when I did instead of waiting. So, again, thank you._

* * *

On Sunday morning Des made pancakes. She looked around in the cabinets and the fridge.

"Oh sweet merciful Lord, we're out of regular syrup," she said.

Santana laughed.

"Is the sugar-free really that bad?" she asked.

"It's horrible. But it's okay. I can make syrup."

Santana looked skeptical.

"It's easy! It's not, like, maple-y but it's like the butter flavored kind."

Santana still didn't believe her. Des smiled and dug around until she had all the ingredients.

"Come here, I'll show you how to do it," Des said.

Santana got up and went over to the stove. Des placed a pot down and grabbed the brown sugar. As she poured, she told Santana what to do.

"Brown sugar. White sugar. Corn syrup for thickening. Butter for flavor. Vanilla extract for flavor. And water."

She turned the stove eye on.

"Can you go in that drawer and get me a whisk?" Des asked, nodding to the specified drawer.

Santana handed her the whisk.

"Thank you, darlin'."

* * *

About five minutes and three pancakes later Santana was almost in a food coma.

"Can I get you anything else?" Des asked.

Santana shook her head and put a hand on her bloated stomach.

"You're going to make me fat if I move in with you!"

Des just smiled and shook her head.

"If my Granny got a look at you she'd force feed you an entire fried chicken," she said.

"Ugh," Santana groaned.

Des cleaned the dishes and dried her hands. As she turned to face Santana, one of her roommates walked into the living room. She had long dark hair, thick but well-groomed eyebrows, a long pointed nose, and hazel eyes. If she saw Des and Santana she didn't show it. She dug around in her purse and lifted throw pillows from the couch. She grunted in frustration.

"Have you seen my keys?" she asked Des without looking at her.

"Sure haven't. Did you check the bowl?"

Des moved to help.

"I'm going to check my room again. Dig in the couch cushions," the girl told her.

Santana frowned as the girl stomped off to her room. Des shoved her hand into the cushions of the couch and groped around. A few seconds the girl came back out.

"Found them," she said, walking to the door.

She left the apartment without a backward glance. Des put the cushions back in order and came to sit beside Santana.

"Okay, I know you're like a mother hen or whatever, but I can't believe you just let that bitch treat you like that," Santana said angrily.

Des frowned.

"I know. I just hate being mean."

"It's not mean, it's sticking up for yourself and demanding the respect you deserve."

Des shrugged making Santana purse her lips grumpily.

* * *

A few hours later Santana and Des went over to the coffee shop. Des' two other roommates had come home from some go-sees and been loud despite the fact that Des was obviously trying to do some work.

Des ordered a coffee and Santana got a smoothie. They went and sat at a table near the door.

"You drink a lot of coffee," Santana pointed out.

"It's why I'm so short," Des joked, taking out her planning notebook.

Santana sat quietly as Des worked. She didn't mind being quiet, though Des insisted she could talk and plan at the same time. Des was one of the only people that Santana felt comfortable sitting in silence with. Besides, she could use this time to think about her decision. Or at least she would have if Calli hadn't walked in.

Des' back was to the door, but Santana knew that her hair was unforgettable. Calli's head immediately turned in Santana's direction. A pained expression crossed her faced, but she quickly turned stony. Sensing the tension, Des looked up to see Santana looking at someone behind her. Des turned and Calli shot her an icy glare.

"Hello," Des said cheerfully, unaware of who she was speaking to.

"Hi," Calli replied flatly.

"Des, this is Calli. Calli, Des."

Santana twisted her hair nervously while a look of comprehension dawned on Des' face. Her cheeks went pink and her mouth formed a perfect circle.

"Oh. Nice to meet you. Santana's told me so much about you," Des told her, holding out a hand for her to shake.

Calli just looked at her extended hand with contempt and Des quickly withdrew it.

"Funny, she never mentioned you," Calli spat venomously.

Des smiled patiently, though her cheeks got pinker and pinker by the minute.

"Oh gosh, those muffins look delicious. I think I'll go get one," she said awkwardly.

She scurried off to wait in the line (which was at least a dozen people long) and left Santana and Calli to talk.

Calli sat down, looking upset.

"Kurt told me you've been staying with her," she said, frowning.

"Rachel and I got into it and I went to stay with her. We're fine now but I...well, a room is coming available in her apartment and I was thinking of taking it..."

Calli didn't look pleased to hear it.

"Why? I mean, if you and Rachel aren't fighting anymore, why move out?"

Santana bit her lip. Why did she feel so compelled to defend her decision? She was an adult.

"Because...It would mean I have my own space. It's not that far from them so if they needed me or we just wanted to hang out, we could."

Calli drummed her fingers on the table.

"Any other reasons?" she asked.

"No, not really. I guess I'm hoping that Rachel and Kurt and I can get along better if we're not together all the time," Santana told her, shrugging.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me about her," Calli said sadly.

Santana sighed.

"I didn't think it was a big deal. You and I hadn't been together that long, I didn't think you'd want a list of every person I consider a friend."

"You told me about Brittany," Calli pointed out.

"But that was different. You had the right to know about Britt because we were together before and I was in love with her. And because we're still best friends. But Des and I have nothing going on. She's just a friend who happens to give really good advice and make the best pancakes I have ever eaten in my life."

"If she's just a friend, why did you choose her over me?"

The question knocked the wind from Santana. How was she supposed to answer that? There were plenty of reasons floating around her head but she didn't think Calli really wanted to hear them. Instead, she shrugged.

* * *

**I know this is a super short chapter right before a hiatus. I'm sooo sorry. I'll update as soon as possible.**


	11. Ending On A Good Note

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:** _For those who have been wondering about the other story I was working on (Expect The Unexpected), I currently have no plans to get back into that one. If at some point I do, I will likely close it down and completely re-do it because I'm really unhappy with it._

* * *

Calli frowned a little and it suddenly hit Santana. The reason she had chosen Des. It had been easier than she had thought it would be. She really liked Calli, though.

"I chose Des because I've pushed people away my whole life. I've been rude, sarcastic, and cruel but Des brings out the good in me. Not that you don't, but I guess I just need a really good friend more than I need a girlfriend right now. And that's what Des is."

Calli nodded sadly.

"I understand," she said.

"Really?" Santana asked.

"Of course. I know how hard it can be to be different. I used to push people away, too. Can we still be friends?"

Santana smiled.

"I'd like that," she agreed.

Calli smiled and stood to leave.

"See you around, Santana," She said.

"See you around," Santana parroted.

* * *

Des came and sat back down with a small hot chocolate, which she handed to Santana.

"Hot chocolate makes everything better," Des told her gently.

Santana smiled and took the drink.

"Thank you," she said.

"Everything okay?" Des asked.

Santana nodded.

"We talked and I explained that I didn't feel I was doing anything wrong. You and I are friends and I like hanging out with you. Calli said she understood and wants to be friends."

"Well, that's good that she wants to be friends and she understands."

Santana breathed a sigh of relief. All she wanted was to get her life back on track and she had now gotten through step one. Step two was going to be hard as well, but she hoped that Rachel would understand.

"I need to talk to you about that room in your apartment," Santana told her.

"Sure," Des replied, marking a wrong answer on a messy worksheet.

"I think I want to take it," Santana said.

Des looked up and smiled.

"Oh, thank God! I did _not_ want to put up with another stranger!"

Santana smiled as Des beamed. She looked so relieved.

"It'll be the last room, on the opposite end of the hall from me. It's the biggest room, though."

"When will it be ready?" Santana asked.

"Maya and Emily officially move out Friday. They've already moved a lot of their stuff out and it should be move in ready by Saturday or Sunday at the latest."

"Great. That works out. I'm off at both jobs this weekend."

Des' green eyes lit up and the grin that stretched over her lips was contagious. Santana smiled, happy to be doing some good finally.

* * *

Kurt was quiet. Too quiet. Rachel had been very vocal about wanting Santana to stay but at the same time wanting her to be happy. Kurt had said nothing. The three of them sat in the living room as Santana told them her decision. Kurt's face was unreadable.

"Say something, Hummel," Santana said, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"I think you are an intelligent, independent, beautiful young woman who can make her own decisions. You don't need our permission to..."

"Good, 'cause I wasn't asking for it," Santana snapped.

Kurt smiled.

"I'm going to miss you," he replied.

Santana rolled her eyes.

"This is not a big deal. I'll be a few blocks away and we'll hang out all the time."

There wasn't much left to be said at that point.

"So, I'll get all my stuff together and be out by Sunday. I want no tears, no parties, and no parades."

Rachel smiled sadly.

"Chin up, Berry. You lived without me before, you can live without me now."

* * *

The rest of the week dragged by. Dance class on Tuesday had been just like any other day. When she came in on Thursday she had expected the same. Instead there was a note on the door when she walked up to the classroom in her dance clothes.

_Dance class canceled. Sorry for inconvenience._

Santana groaned and leaned against the wall. Now what was she going to do until work? She suddenly realized she should call Des and tell her not to bother coming since class was canceled. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Class is canceled," Santana told her.

"Oh no! I'm already here!"

She sounded really upset.

"It's okay. I'm here, too. Where are you?"

"I'm in the lobby, by this gigantic plant."

"I'll come to you; stay where you are."

Santana took the elevator down to the lobby and found Des. She was wearing the leopard print leotard that Santana liked and her hair was all over the place.

"Sorry, I'm windblown," Des said as Santana approached.

"It's okay," she replied.

"Well, I just hate that class got canceled. You'd think the professor would've e-mailed us or somethin'."

"I know. I have four hours to kill before I have to go in to work," Santana complained.

"Where are you workin' tonight?" Des asked her.

"The club," Santana replied. "And tomorrow night it's the bar."

"Well, we could... We could... Hmm... We could go see a movie. Or we can go to the coffee place. Or there's this karaoke place around the corner that I've been to a few times. I think they mostly cater to the NYADA students. It's called Callbacks."

"I've been there," Santana said.

"Really? You like it?"

Santana shrugged.

"I went with Rachel and Kurt. It's cool, I guess. We can go if you want," Santana replied.

"Don't matter to me. I always have fun when I'm with you," Des said.

* * *

When they walked in some guy was on stage singing '_Stranded At The Drive-In_' from Grease to some blonde girl at a table off to the side. Santana grabbed them a table while Des procured drinks and onion rings. She came back as the guy was walking off stage and one of his friends high-fived him and went up.

They talked quietly as the guy did a mediocre rendition of '_Razzle Dazzle_' from Chicago.

"What are you gonna sing?" Des whispered to Santana as she sipped her water.

"I don't know. I'm in a pretty good mood so it'll probably be something upbeat. What about you?"

"I'm itchin' to sing some Reba. Ginger pride!" Des replied, making Santana giggle quietly.

A few more people went up before Santana decided what to sing. Des had told her she couldn't wait to hear her voice and clapped excitedly as Santana made her way up onto the stage. Santana smiled as the familiar tune filled the air and this time she wasn't sharing it with Finn.

"_One way or another, I'm gonna find ya..._  
_I'm gonna getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha..._"

The people went crazy at their tables. Des whistled as Santana sang. She soaked in the attention. If there was anything in the world she loved half as much as dancing, it was this. Being on stage, singing, gave her a rush and she felt at home.

"_And if the lights are all out..._  
_I'll follow your bus downtown..._  
_See who's hangin' out.._."

The guys were especially rowdy. She was still in her dance clothes which were tight and revealing. The straight ones wolf-whistled and cat-called. Santana ignored it but Des looked a little uncomfortable. There was one in particular who was being really inappropriate.

"Shake it, honey!"

"_One way or another, I'm gonna lose ya..._  
_I'll give you the slip, a slip of the lip or another..._  
_I'm gonna lose ya, I'm gonna trick ya, I'll trick ya..._"

"Come on, baby, work it!"

Des turned around to get a good look at the guy and all hell broke loose.

"Hey, asshole! Shut your face-gash!" she yelled.

At first he was too shocked to say anything, but that didn't last long.

"Turn around and mind your own business!" he shouted back.

"She's my friend so it _is_ my business," Des replied.

He was ignoring Des now, wolf-whistling at Santana. She hoped that would be the end of it.

"Shake that ass!" he called, laughing with his friends.

The song was almost over, so Santana just tried to ignore it. She was used to guys being pigs to her. All that mattered was that she was secure in who she was. She didn't mind attention from guys if she could use it to her advantage.

"Someone get me a shot, I wanna drink it off her!"

Des stood up and marched over to the guy as Santana left the stage to stop her.

"Hey, you fucking dick! She's a person and she ain't here for your entertainment so why don't you shut your big, shit spewing, pie hole before I shut it for you!" Des bellowed.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" the guy replied, clearly amused.

"Des! Des, stop! Come on, let's just go," Santana said, reaching Des and pulling her arm lightly.

"I'm not going anywhere until this misogynist dirtbag apologizes for hollerin' at you like that," Des told her stubbornly.

"Well, you're gonna be here all night, honey," the guy said.

His friend laughed.

"Y'all think you're real clever, don't you? I wonder how clever you'll be with my foot in your ass," Des said calmly.

"Des, come on," Santana urged.

Everyone was staring and a manager was coming over.

Santana got Des to move just as the manager was closing in. They left before they could get kicked out but it was a close call.

* * *

"Sorry if I embarrassed you," Des said as they walked down the street.

"Nah, it was actually kind of sweet," Santana told her.

Des smiled and went pink.

"I just hate guys who think they can say whatever they want to a girl. We're people, not property."

"Well, thanks. I'm proud to call you my friend."

They made their way over to the coffee shop and grabbed a table.

"I'm going to quit the club," Santana said abruptly.

"Good. I know you hate it," Des said.

Santana nodded and curled her hand around her hot chocolate.

"I already gave them my notice and tonight's my last night. I didn't tell anyone about it. I'm looking for another job but..."

"It's tough. But you'll find something, I'm sure. And with only one job you'll have more time to find your passion," Des said, smiling encouragingly.

Santana smiled, feeling better.

"You always know how to cheer me up," she said.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and being so patient! I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Song:**

"One Way Or Another" - Blondie


	12. Lazy Sunday

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:** The tiny amount of Spanish I used is probably wrong. I had to use Google Translate because I don't actually speak Spanish.

* * *

Santana was completely moved in by Saturday afternoon. She had brought a lot less stuff to New York than she had originally thought. Des helped her unpack all evening and they were done by seven.

"I'm 'bout starved to death. Wanna grab some dinner? I'm buyin'," Des asked.

"Sure," Santana said, grabbing her favorite boots and slipping them on.

She grabbed her purse and followed Des out of the apartment.

"Is pizza okay? There's a really good place a couple blocks away."

"Pizza sounds good," Santana said.

The pizza place that Des led her to was a small brick building with a neon sign that read 'OPEN' in the window. Des held the door for Santana and as she walked in the smell of fresh ingredients hit her. She breathed in the smell of pizza and her stomach rumbled. She followed Des up to the counter.

"Welcome to Lil Vito's. What can I do for ya?" asked a round man with a thick New York accent.

"We need a sec to pick out toppings," Des told him.

"Sure, lemme know when ya ready," the man replied.

The decision was tough. Everything looked (and smelled) so delicious.

"We can do a twelve inch extra cheese and do half whatever you want and half whatever I want," Des suggested.

"Okay. I want green peppers, onions, and pepperoni," Santana said.

The big guy behind the counter wrote it down as they ordered.

"I would like pepperoni, mushrooms, and sausage," Des told him.

"Okay, I got a twelve inch with extra cheese, half with onions, peppers, and pepperoni, and half with pepperoni, mushrooms, and sausage," the man read.

"That's right, and two drinks," Des told him.

"Alright, that'll be $19.07 and it'll be out in about twenty, twenty-five minutes," he told them.

Des took out a twenty and told him to keep the change, then put a few dollars in the tip jar. The man handed them drink cups and went into the kitchen to put in their order. Santana and Des went to the drink machine to fill their cups and then sat at a little table for two by the window.

"It smells so good in here," Santana said.

"I know, right? Magnificent," Des replied. "And it's, like, legit Italian, too. The owner is from Italy, everyone who works here is family, and sometimes you can hear them yelling at each other in Italian in the kitchen."

Santana smiled and sipped her soda.

* * *

When the pizza came out Santana almost started drooling. Des lifted a slice of her side up and said, "bon apetit because I have no idea what they say in Italy."

Santana held her slice up and said, "cheers."

They both bit into their pizza at the same time.

"Mmm, ohmygoddatssogood," Des moaned with her mouth full.

"Mhmm," Santana grumbled, pulling a string of melted mozzarella and stuffing it into her mouth.

They didn't talk much as they ate two slices a piece. Finally Santana had to push it to the side before they both exploded.

Des leaned back and rubbed her slightly bloated stomach.

"I ate too fast," she complained.

"Well, I ate too much. Ugh. That tends to be a running theme when I'm with you," Santana pouted.

Des grinned.

"I could make an inappropriate joke right now, but I won't because there's a kid over there," she said.

Santana laughed, seeing what Des was getting at.

"Who knew sweet little Des could be so dirty?" Santana asked jokingly.

"A few people," Des replied with a wink.

Santana smiled subconsciously. Hanging out with Des was like an adventure. She never knew what they would end up doing or talking about, but it never really mattered because they had so much fun on the way.

* * *

Santana woke up before Des and well before she wanted to be awake the next morning. She went to the bathroom and washed her face to wake herself up. Then she went out into the kitchen to eat a piece of leftover pizza. The other roommate was sitting at the kitchen island with a bottle of water and her laptop. She snatched up her phone and started furiously pressing buttons, completely ignoring Santana.

Santana grabbed a slice of her pizza and sat down. The girl wrinkled her nose.

"Can you eat that somewhere else?" she asked.

"Nope," Santana replied, taking a big bite and chewing while making intense eye contact.

"It's disgusting," the girl complained.

"It's actually quite tasty," Santana informed her.

The girl huffed.

"I can see you're going to be difficult," she spat.

Santana grinned.

"Let's have a little chat, roommate to roommate, and I'll tell ya how it's gonna be."

The girl did not look pleased.

"The kitchen, bathroom, and living room are all shared, common space. You might think you run this place, but you don't. I will sit and eat in any place that I want to. You will address me with respect or you will not speak to me at all. You can't bully me and if you try, I will cut you. I have officially signed the lease and am now paying a third of the rent making su casa, mi casa. Comprender?"

The girl looked at Santana sourly.

"And since we live together, we might as well know each others names. So, I'm Santana. And you are..."

"Juliana."

"Good. Now that we've cleared that up, I'm going to finish my _delicious_ pizza."

Juliana retreated to her room quickly and didn't come back, which suited Santana just fine. It was about an hour later before Des got up and meandered into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning heavily.

"Mornin'," she grumbled, grabbing a coffee cup and pressing the power button on the coffee maker.

"Hey," Santana replied, flipping the page of her magazine.

* * *

For the better part of the afternoon Santana watched movies or read magazines while Des planned lessons for school or graded papers. It was nice to have some time to just relax and not worry about anything. Santana never even changed out of her pajamas.

"I don't think I've ever had a Sunday where I was this lazy," Santana admitted as she got up to take Fight Club out of the DVD player.

"If there was one thing I learned from being dragged to church with my grandparents, it was that Sunday is a day of rest," Des replied.

Santana looked through the movie selection.

"I'm bored," she said.

"Me, too. Just two more papers and I'm done."

When Des finished grading the last two papers, she and Santana went through several suggestions of what they could do.

"I have tons of TV on DVD," Des told her.

"If I watch any more TV I'll get a headache," Santana replied.

"Good point. We could make cupcakes."

"No more foooood! We _should_ go to the gym," Santana said, putting a hand on her stomach.

"I'm too lazy to go to the gym today. We could paint each others nails or something. I have tons of nail polish but I can't paint my left hand."

"Perfect! We can do make overs and it'll be like sleepovers with Br..."

Santana frowned. She hadn't talked about Britt in a while. Des smiled at her with an understanding look in her eyes.

"I've never had a real sleepover. Most people thought I was weird in school," Des told her.

"I really only ever had sleepovers with Brittany and Quinn," Santana admitted.

"You never mentioned a Quinn before. Lovely name," Des said.

"Quinn and I have a...weird relationship. We fight, make up, fight, make up...you get it."

"Totally."

"We're actually a lot alike. We're ambitious and brutally honest. I think that's why we butt heads so much."

"Probably."

"Anyway, let's paint nails," Santana said, standing up off the floor.

She followed Des to her room, which had been straightened up a bit, and flopped down on the bed.

Des dug around in the closet for a moment then turned back to Santana carrying a small box full of finger nail polish. She set it down next to Santana, who immediately began searching for the perfect color. She picked red for her fingers and pink glitter for her toes. She almost never wore open-toe shoes so she wasn't worried about anyone seeing it.

"I'll do you first, then you can do me," Des said.

"Wanky."

Des grinned (and blushed) and took the pink glitter polish. She started at the pinky toe and worked her way over. Neither of them really talked a whole lot. They just enjoyed each others company.

When Des finished Santana's toes she got up off the floor and sat on the bed. She took Santana's right hand and placed it on her lap while she grabbed the red polish. She put two coats on each hand, then put the top back on the bottle. She watched Santana blow her fingernails dry. Her heart beat a little faster.

Now it was Santana's turn to paint Des' nails. Des had picked a somewhat sparkly but not all out glittery green for her nails and a bright lime green for her toes.

"It's Spring so I gotta have bright toes," she said.

Santana decided to talk while she worked. There was plenty of stuff she didn't know about Des. Some of it was really personal; she wondered if Des would actually be cool with talking about it.

"Hey, so, just curious...if I were to ask you some fairly personal questions, would that be okay?" Santana asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not. We're roommates now, after all."

"Cool, because there are some things I'm pretty curious about," Santana admitted.

"Ask away. I'm an open book."

"Does your boss know you're gay?"

"Yep, and he can't fire me because of it."

"I'm guessing you don't have a girlfriend, otherwise you probably wouldn't spend so much time with me," Santana predicted.

"Bingo. I actually got dumped about two months before I met you."

Santana frowned.

"Sorry," she said.

Des shrugged.

"I'm over it now. It wasn't easy at first, but I got over it."

"How?" Santana asked.

"Well," Des began, blushing, "I just think that maybe everything happens for a reason and maybe not but there some events in our lives that without a doubt are the catalyst for something else. I think that Jules dumping me really did happen for a reason. I think I was meant to meet someone else."

Santana nodded and thought about Brittany. What if Brittany was her catalyst? And if that was the case, who was the person she was meant to find?

* * *

**Thank you for reading and I'm sorry it took so long to write! It's been a busy week.**


	13. Good News

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:** _Just a heads up, I will probably be scaling back to one chapter a week during the summer. It's just harder for me to write as much in the summer because my sister is home all day and we share a computer. Also this should prove to be a busy summer for me. I do apologize but it's only for a few months! Thank you for your patience and for continuing to take this journey with me._

* * *

Des hummed as she cooked. She always hummed as she cooked, Santana noticed. Juliana came out of her room, grabbed her keys, and left without a word, distracting Santana from her train of thought. Then it hit her. Curiosity burned as she looked from the door to Des. She bit her lip.

"Is Juliana the Jules who dumped you?" she asked suddenly.

It would make sense. Juliana never wanted to stick around for long and seemed to treat Des coldly. Des frowned.

"No," she said.

Santana couldn't tell if she had upset Des or not.

"Sorry, I was just curious," Santana said.

"It's cool. But I'm curious where you got the idea," Des replied.

"Well, she never hangs around and seems to treat you like dirt so I just thought maybe..."

Des smiled sadly.

"I see. No, Juliana is just...I don't really know. We've lived together for a year now and I've not gotten to know her. No, Jules was...well, her real name was Julia but she hated it. Always said it was too girly. She'd 'ave had a hissy fit if her parents had stuck her with Juliana."

Des chuckled a little to herself.

"What happened, if you don't mind my asking," Santana wondered aloud.

Des shrugged.

"We grew apart. We wanted different things. By the end the only thing we had left in common was that we held on for too long."

It was quiet for a moment while Des stirred the meat into the spaghetti sauce.

"She wanted to get married."

"And you didn't?" Santana asked.

"Yes, and no. We were together for a long time but for months it had felt different. At least to me. She was becoming more and more mature, responsible. Not that that's a bad thing, but she wasn't the free spirited, spontaneous adventurer I had fallen in love with."

"So you fell out of love?"

"I guess so. I understand the need to grow up and everything, but I don't understand why growing up means being an entirely different person."

Santana thought about that for a minute. Wasn't that exactly what growing up was? Des seemed to sense what she was thinking.

"Someday, when I'm good and ready, I'll settle down with the right woman. We'll start a family. I'll go to work, I'll pay bills, I'll do what has to be done to make a good life for my family. But I'll still have big dreams. I'll still be spontaneous. I'll still be me. Just a more adult version of me."

Santana nodded and couldn't help but think of Brittany. In her first senior year she was forced to realize that Leprechauns didn't really exist and Santana had noticed a light in her fade. She wondered if one day Brittany would ever leave the magical world she lived in or if she would retain as much of her pure heart as she possibly could.

"I guess all relationships are different because all people are different. In the end, you'll know you're with the right person when you're with them. It'll just hit you," Des said, bringing Santana out of her thoughts.

Santana frowned. She had always felt that way about Brittany.

"Do you think you can feel that way more than once?" Santana asked in a weak voice.

"Of course. I think some people were just born with a lot of love in their heart and when you have a lot of love in your heart, you can love a lot of people."

"But what if you've always loved someone and it didn't work out? What if you know that person is _the one_ but you're not together?"

Des smiled sadly.

"Darlin', only when you let her go in your heart can you really move on. You're only gonna make yourself miserable pinin' after someone who ain't there."

A lump rose in Santana's throat but she knew Des was right. Brittany hadn't talked to her in a while and she was so tired of feeling alone. But at the same time, the thought of _actually_ giving up made her sick.

* * *

When Santana woke up the next morning she brushed the dried tears from her cheeks and sat up. The clock beside her bed read 9:47 AM in angry red print. She had several missed calls, all from Rachel and all within the last hour and a half. She groggily called her back.

"SANTANA!" Rachel exclaimed on the first ring.

"Berry, what's happening? Why did you call me six times?"

"I got it!"

Santana was suddenly awake and sat up quickly.

"Oh my God, Rachel, that's awesome! When did you find out?"

"I got the call at about eight this morning. I couldn't believe it. I _still_ can't believe it. My dream is coming true! I'm going to play _Fanny Brice_ on _Broadway_!"

"Congrats, Rachel. That's amazing news and I'm so happy for you!" Santana told her honestly.

If someone had told her two years ago that she would be friends with Rachel Berry, Santana would have thought they were crazy. If someone had told her that, not only would they be friends, but that she would be genuinely happy for Rachel when her dreams came true, Santana would have had them committed to an asylum. But here she was, close to tears of joy for the girl she had tormented for nearly four years.

"Kurt and I are having a celebratory brunch tomorrow at ten since we both have an early class and then no class until noon. We really want you to come if you can."

"Sure, what else do I have to do?" Santana joked.

"Great. We're having it at that cute little cafe three blocks down. And, um..."

"And what?"

"Calli is coming," Rachel told her.

"Not a problem."

"Good. I miss you, Santana," Rachel said.

"I miss you, too," Santana admitted.

* * *

That afternoon when Des got home, Santana told her the news.

"Oh wow! That's amazing! She must be insanely talented," Des said, beaming.

This was one of the personality traits that Santana wished she could adopt. Des was always genuinely happy when good things happened, even if they happened to someone she had only met once.

"She is. She's amazing. But don't tell her I said that next time you see her," Santana said.

Des grinned.

"A celebratory brunch is grand but I think you should have a dinner," she said.

Santana shrugged.

"Do you know when opening night is?" Des asked.

"Not for a while. There's weeks of rehearsals and everything," Santana told her.

"Hmm, true. Well, when you find out let me know. I'd love to go to the show and then make dinner for everyone."

"Sure, I'll keep you posted," Santana promised, making Des smile.

* * *

The next day, Santana arrived late for brunch, but only by a few minutes.

She hugged her friends and they all sat outside at a cute little bistro table. There was a girl Santana didn't know next to Calli.

"Santana, this is Natalie. Natalie, this is Santana," Calli said.

Natalie shook Santana's hand and smiled.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

"Same," Santana replied.

She noticed Natalie take Calli's hand inconspicuously as they sat back down. Natalie was a pretty girl, though not particularly memorable. She had layered brown hair, pale blue eyes, and was average height. She was not near as striking or different as Des.

"You didn't bring your friend?" Calli asked, sipping some water.

"What friend? Des?" Santana asked.

Calli nodded.

"She's a teacher so she's at work right now."

"Oh, what grade?" Natalie asked.

"Third, I think."

"How sweet," Natalie said.

"She's getting a degree in early childhood development," Calli explained.

"I want to run my own daycare. I really love kids."

Santana smiled.

"So what do you do?" Natalie asked.

"I'm a bartender right now," Santana replied. "I'm taking the year to decide what I want to do."

Natalie nodded with an understanding look.

The waiter came, sparing them any more small talk for a while. He wrote down their orders and walked away.

"Since we were talking about Des earlier, she and I talked last night. She really wants to make dinner for everyone after your opening night," Santana said, sipping the water Rachel had ordered for her before she arrived.

"Really?" Rachel asked, looking surprised.

"She said she would love to see you perform and that she wants to have everyone over for dinner after opening night."

"That...that's really sweet of her, considering I've met her _once_."

Santana shrugged.

"That's Des for you. Always happy for other people's triumphs and constantly cooking enough to feed a small army."

Santana tried to seem neutral, but it was hard. She swallowed the smile that she felt in her heart.

"Anyway, I told her I would keep her updated, so when you know about opening night let me know."

"Of course," Rachel replied.

* * *

After brunch, the group went their separate ways. Calli seemed happy with Natalie and for that, Santana was grateful. Calli was sweet and deserved to be happy, even if Santana wasn't the girl for the job.

Santana took a cab back to her apartment. No one was home when she got there and she went to her room. Under her bed was a shoebox filled with old notes and letters she had exchanged with various people, mainly Brittany and Quinn. She thought about pulling them out and reading them, but decided not to. Under her mattress was a thick, leather bound journal that her mother had given her when she came out.

"If you ever feel like you can't talk to anyone, write it down, mija, because my worst nightmare is losing you," she had said.

Santana pulled it out. She had filled more pages than she cared to admit with feelings of loneliness and fear, especially in her first few weeks in Kentucky. She went to the nearest available space and grabbed a pen from the drawer beside her bed. She wrote the date at the top and let her feelings flow.

_It's been a while since I felt like writing anything, but the past few days have been hard. Des has given me a lot to think about. Sometimes I wonder if she knows how wise she is or how much her advice means to me. I think the only way I will ever be able to move on from Britt is with her help. I realized today at brunch that Des is my rock. She's everything I wish I could be and more. She definitely makes me smile and I think that's a really good thing._

_Rachel got Funny Girl. I know that I have come a long way since high school because when she called to tell me, I was truly happy for her. I'm also really glad that I moved out because now I won't have to hear her constant squawking, but even I have to admit she's talented._

_Calli has a new girlfriend already. Her name is Natalie and she's sweet, but nothing special. Well, I guess she's special to Calli. Either way, I'm happy for Calli. She deserves everything I couldn't give her._

_I guess I'm writing right now because I have been feeling a little lonely lately, but I've realized that I am changing. I am becoming a better person. I'll never be perfect, but I don't need to be. I'm shocked by how I've actually been happy for other people and not just focused on myself. I think it all comes back to Des. I was getting a little better by senior year, but it wasn't until I met Des that I really started wanting to change. I guess I owe her a lot. _

Santana closed her journal and sighed. She stuffed it back under the mattress and put the pen away. As she stared up at the ceiling, she thought about how one person could change your life forever and how many people she had met that had done just that. She fell asleep with a warm feeling in her heart.

* * *

**Thank you soooo much for your patience and for reading my story. I love y'all to bits!**


	14. Opening Night Dinner Party

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:**_ Thank you so much for your patience. I'm sorry this took so long!_

* * *

Weeks went by and Santana hadn't heard much from Brittany. She tried not to think about it as she helped Des make cookies for a parent night at her work.

"Tell me again why you couldn't just buy something? I mean, it's not like you like any of these people," Santana said grumpily.

Des smiled patiently, as she always did.

"Be that as it may, they have the power to get me fired and I kinda need this job; therefore, I need them to like me."

Santana crossed her arms over her chest and tried not to be so pouty but it wasn't working.

"What's eatin' _you_?" Des asked, spooning another drop of cookie dough on the baking sheet.

"Brittany hasn't called in weeks," Santana admitted.

"Call her," Des replied.

"I have. She won't answer."

Des frowned but kept working.

"Honestly, I'm worried about her. What if they're doing some weird experiments on her because she's so smart?" Santana continued.

"Don't be ridiculous! MIT is a highly respected institute. Look, I'm sure she's just busy. Try her again and if she don't answer, leave a message."

Santana frowned doubtfully.

"Listen, I really love having you around, but you're being a Negative Nellie and it's really bringin' me down. Call her or don't, but have _got_ to brighten up."

Santana stalked off to her room to call Brittany.

* * *

"You've reached Brittany S. Pierce. I can't answer the phone right now because I'm either working on my time machine or solving world hunger so leave me a message and I might call you back."

_BEEP!_

"Hey, Britt. It's Santana. I haven't heard from you in a while and I was just...anyway, call me back. I miss you."

She felt stupid. Chasing after Brittany when she had clearly moved on. Why was it so damn hard to let go? She flung herself face down on the bed. She grabbed a pillow and screamed into it in frustration.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Santana didn't say anything and eventually Des went away.

* * *

While Santana was alone the next day, she got a call. Hoping it was Brittany, she jumped up and grabbed her phone. Without looking at the number on the screen she answered quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Santana, it's been a while."

The voice on the other line was definitely masculine and familiar.

"Finn?" Santana asked.

"Yeah, hey," he replied.

"Wow. Hi," she said, confused.

"What have you been up to?" he asked awkwardly.

"Why don't we cut the crap and you tell me why you're calling," Santana replied, frowning.

"I need your help. I want to surprise Rachel at the opening of Funny Girl and I'm kind of freaking out."

"What's there to freak out about?" Santana asked.

"What if she totally rejects me and doesn't want me there?" Finn asked.

"Oh my God, Finn. Grow a pair."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, as disgusting as I find the two of you together, everyone knows you're going to end up together. It's inevitable. _But_ I guess if you need help, and if you're planning some big romantic gesture, _you do_, I will help."

"Thank you, Santana. Um, I do have an idea in mind," Finn said.

"Okay, let's hear it."

"I want to ask her to marry me..."

"No."

"What?"

"No. That's a terrible idea," Santana told him.

"I don't think you get to decide..."

"Shut up, Finn. I'm trying to help you. Just because everyone in the universe knows you'll get married someday, doesn't mean it needs to be any time soon. We're way too young to be getting married anyway..."

"It's not about age, Santana. I love her."

"And I get that. But you need to understand that if the two of you get married now you will _ruin_ her life."

It took a minute for that to sink in.

"How can you say that?" Finn asked, sounding hurt.

"Finn, I didn't mean it to be mean. Rachel is my friend,_ you_ are my friend. Rachel is destined for stardom but she won't get there if she doesn't find out who she is on her own. And I think that if you're going to be a good husband to her someday, you need to find who you are on your own."

She was starting to sound like Des and she didn't know whether to be happy about that or scared.

Finn didn't answer, so Santana explained further.

"Rachel is worse than Quinn about letting a man define her. She needs to learn to be a strong, independent woman before the two of you should do anything serious. And your entire high school career was spent trying to make one girl or another happy. You need to figure out who you are and who you want to be..._without_ a woman."

"I'm scared, Santana," Finn admitted.

That surprised Santana.

"Of what?"

"What if this is my last chance? I can't see my life without her. What do I do if I blow it?"

Santana sighed.

"You're not gonna blow it, Finn. It's going to take time, but you'll end up where you were always supposed to be and then you'll laugh at yourself for being such a scaredy-cat."

"So what do I do?"

* * *

The weekend of opening night, Juliana had gone to the Hamptons with her parents. Des was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to prepare for the huge dinner she would be cooking for everyone.

"Oh my God," Des groaned as she unloaded groceries as fast as possible.

"I told you, we could just go out."

"No, it's fine. I just forgot the arugula for the salad!"

"There's spinach in the fridge, just use that. No one will mind," Santana said, trying to calm her friend.

"Eleven people," Des sighed, running a hand through her copper waves.

"It'll be fine. Just remember..."

"Rachel is vegan. I know."

Santana nodded.

She had offered to help countless times but Des insisted on doing it all herself. Santana had never seen Des stressed out before. Des was always laid back and only serious when trying to help someone. The past few days, however, Des had been freaking out.

Santana watched as Des prepared the meat-eater's part. Des pulled out her crock pot and put in the roast. It was massive. She put in the seasonings and water and moved on to rinse potatoes and carrots.

"Are you sure I can't help?" Santana asked one last time.

"I'm sure. But thank you. You're an angel."

Santana smiled.

* * *

Des cut out a few minutes early to start the potatoes before everyone got there. When Rachel was finally able to reach them, her dads each hugged her tight and beamed with pride.

"Our little princess!"

Finn handed her a bouquet of roses and she took them graciously.

"Finn, I wasn't expecting you..."

She sniffed the roses and looked at Finn. Santana rolled her eyes when no one was looking.

_There they go with that mushy crap_, she thought.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he told her.

Their grins lasted for what felt like ages.

"Okay, can we go now? Des is slaving away in the kitchen," Santana said, leading them out of the theater.

* * *

When Santana led the group into the apartment, the scents that hit them were glorious.

"Oh God that smells _good_!" Santana said.

Des smiled.

"Thank you."

Rachel looked slightly uncomfortable.

"She made something special for you," Santana told her.

"Please, everyone, make yourselves comfortable. I made a cheese ball and there's hummus and mushroom poppers. So, just help yourselves and dinner will be ready shortly. Can offer anyone a drink? I have water, sweet tea, lemonade, Coke, beer, and wine."

Most of them just took water. Kurt's dad had a beer, Finn's mom and Rachel's dads took some red wine. When the drinks were served, Des finally sat down with the rest of them.

"Rachel, I have to say that you were...amazing," Des gushed.

Rachel beamed.

"Thank you so much," she said.

"I mean, amazing doesn't begin to cover it. I got chills _every_ time you sang."

She turned to Rachel's dads.

"You two must be so proud of her."

They held each others hand and smiled at each other.

"We couldn't be prouder," they agreed.

Though Des was smiling as wide as any of them, Santana could sense something underneath. Des tried, but she was never good at hiding her emotions. Her eyes were too expressive. But Santana would have to wait to talk to her.

* * *

Dinner started with a salad.

"I wasn't sure what everyone liked so I thought we could do a mini salad bar type thing," Des announced.

Everyone loved the idea to Des' relief. After salad and small talk came the main courses.

For the meat eaters, Des had made a huge pot roast with carrots and roasted potatoes. For Rachel, Des made a vegan stir fry with rice, vegetables, and teriyaki seasoned tofu. Santana thought it looked like barf but Rachel insisted it was delicious and even asked for the recipe. Des had beamed and promised to write it down before they all left.

As Des poured more wine, Rachel's dads (who had clearly had a bit too much already) got all teary eyed as they discussed their daughter's most brilliant moments on the stage.

"Your rendition of _Don't Rain On My Parade_ was flawless, baby girl."

Rachel had the decency to blush and act modest.

"You really think so?"

"Please, Rachel. You know it was," Santana interjected.

Rachel smiled.

* * *

As the night wore down, Des made sure to help everyone hail cabs if need be and graciously refused any offer to help clean. Calli and Natalie were the first to leave.

"We had a great time," Calli told them.

"Thank you for inviting us," Natalie added.

"It was my pleasure. I'm glad you had a nice time," Des replied.

As Calli hugged Santana goodbye she whispered, "I can see why you like her."

Santana smiled awkwardly and waved as they walked out the door. Burt, Carole, and Kurt were next.

"I had wonderful time! It was so nice to meet you," Carole said as Burt and Kurt led her to the door.

"It was wonderful meeting you as well, Mrs. Hummel," Des replied.

"Please, call me Carole."

Des smiled.

When they were gone, Rachel led her dads and Finn to the door.

"I'd love to hang out again some time," Rachel told Des, hugging her.

"Me too. We'll all have to get together again soon. Maybe go to Callbacks."

"That would be fun!" Rachel agreed.

"Great. Just let me know. Oh, and here. It's the recipe for the stir fry."

"Thank you. I'll talk to you soon."

She nodded.

"Finn, it was nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Finn replied, shaking her hand.

* * *

Finally Des and Santana were alone. Des got started cleaning the kitchen while Santana cleared the table.

"Des, can I talk to you about something?" Santana asked, loading the dishwasher with the plates she'd cleared.

"Of course," Des replied.

"There was a moment during dinner...You were smiling but you seemed...I don't know. Not happy."

Des frowned.

"I don't know what you mean," she said.

"It was when Rachel's dads were saying how proud they were of her..."

"Oh..."

Santana bit her lip.

"That was nothing. Sometimes I just get a little envious of people whose parents are proud of them for doing what they love."

That made Santana feel a deep sadness all the way to her core.

"Aren't your parents proud of you?" she asked quietly.

"Sometimes, I guess."

Santana could see that it was really bothering her, so she decided to drop it for now. She finished loading the dishwasher in silence and then helped wipe down the counters. After the kitchen was clean, Des stretched her muscles and yawned.

"I'm exhausted," she said.

"Me too," Santana agreed.

"I'll see you in the morning," Des told her.

Santana nodded and watched her make her way to her bedroom, noticing how dejected she looked.

* * *

_**Thank you sooooo much for your patience. I know this one took forever to get out and I appreciate all of you who read it.**_


	15. The Day It Changed

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

A week later, Santana still hadn't talked to Des about what was really bothering her, but by then it was too late. Des had already gone back to normal and Santana couldn't bring herself to upset her. Saturday morning the two of them sat at the kitchen island eating breakfast. They were having a nice conversation about music when Santana's phone rang.

"Ooh, maybe it's Brittany," Des said.

Santana looked at the number.

"It's my mom," she told her.

As soon as she answered the phone she knew something was wrong.

"Mami, what's wrong?" Santana asked.

Her mother was sniffling and sounded as if she'd been crying.

"It's your abuela, mija. She's sick," her mom responded.

"How sick?" Santana asked hesitantly.

It was like someone had dropped a boulder into her stomach. She hadn't been this scared in a while.

"It's bad, mija. She has a severe case of pneumonia. The doctors don't know if she's going to make it."

Just like that, Santana's world was turning itself upside down.

"She wants to see you," her mom told her when Santana didn't respond.

"She does?" Santana asked, hope fluttering in her chest.

"Papi and I booked a flight for you for Tuesday. It was the earliest one out of New York. It leaves at eight that morning. I'll pick you up a the airport."

"Okay. I'll be there."

When she hung up the phone, Des immediately hugged her. As Santana cried, Des stroked her hair to calm her. As Santana's sobs subsided Des held her face up.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently.

"It's mi abuela. She has pneumonia and the doctors don't think she'll make it."

Santana bit her lip, debating whether or not to divulge the nature of their relationship.

Des held Santana's hands and let her cry. Santana decided to talk.

"She and I had a falling out. I came out to her so that she wouldn't find out like the rest of the town..."

"She didn't take it well, did she?" Des guessed.

Santana shook her head.

"Shh, it's okay. Mine didn't either. I understand. Let it out."

"My mom says she wants to see me and I'm scared. What if she just wants to tell me she hates me or she's so disappointed in me before she...she..."

"No way," Des said matter-of-factly.

Santana looked up doubtfully. Des pushed her hair from her face and cupped her cheek.

"I'll bet she wants to make things right with you. Why waste her breath telling you that she hates you when it would be obvious if she refused to see you? Old people are too wise to state the obvious."

"You really think so?" Santana sniffled.

"I know so."

Santana gave a small smile of hope which in turn made Des smile. The older girl pulled Santana in close and hugged her tight. When they pulled apart Santana smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

Des bit her lip.

"Any time."

Santana had the sudden urge to kiss Des. She wondered what Des would make of that. She searched Des' green eyes for some clue and thought she saw a glimmer of hope somewhere. Her eyes were mesmerizing. She quickly looked away. Des was her friend, she didn't want to mess that up. She stepped away awkwardly and cleared her throat.

"Um, I better go figure out what to pack for Tuesday," she said, walking away without giving Des a chance to answer.

* * *

The rest of the day Santana avoided Des. Mostly she worried about her abuela, but there were times when her mind would drift to Des. How sudden the urge had hit her made her wonder. Why had she felt that way? Surely it was because Des had been comforting her and that's what always happened when someone comforted another person. Then again, Des had always been comforting. So what had changed?

Santana pondered that all afternoon until there was a knock at her door. She opened it and came face to face with Des.

"Sorry, I don't mean to intrude. I'm just concerned. You haven't eaten since breakfast and it's almost supper time. Are you okay?"

"Fine. I'm fine."

_Nothing had changed._

Des gave her a concerned look but acted as if nothing had happened earlier.

"You _will_ eat dinner, won't you?"

_Everything had changed._

Santana nodded.

* * *

Dinner was spaghetti, salad, and cheesy garlic bread. Des made no signs that anything had happened as they ate quietly. It left Santana wondering if she'd made it all up in her head. Deep down, though, she was sure she had seen something in Des' eyes.

"Do you need any help packin' for Tuesdey?" Des asked, taking a sip of her sweet tea.

She always had to make her own sweet tea. Santana had tasted it once and thought her teeth would rot out if she didn't brush them immediately.

"No, thanks. I've got it," she replied.

Des nodded and went back to her spaghetti. All this uncertainty was killing Santana. How could Des just go on like nothing happened? She put her fork down.

"Everything okay? If you don't like it..."

"It's not the spaghetti...it's really good..."

Des lowered her fork and scrunched her eyebrows up the way she did when she was concerned. She wiped her mouth, bit her lip, and reached across the table. Santana couldn't meet her eyes as Des took her hand.

"I know you're worried about your...your grandmother, but..."

Santana shook her head. Des looked even more concerned as Santana put her head in her free hand.

"Santana, what's wrong?" Des asked softly.

"Everything is different," she replied, almost hysterically.

"What are you talking about?"

"Us. It changed."

"Since when? As far as I can tell we're just the same as we were yesterday."

Santana looked up and found nothing but sincere concern in Des' eyes.

"You...you didn't feel it?" Santana asked, feeling stupid.

Des smiled gently and rubbed her thumb lightly across Santana's hand, filling her with butterflies and making her heart race. But was it just nerves?

"You're worried about your grandmother and I comforted you. That's basically been the entire basis of our friendship. You get stressed about something and I try and make you feel better. I don't see how anything changed. I think this time the stress is just..."

"You're right," Santana interjected quickly.

Des pulled back with a look of sad confusion.

"If I offended you..."

"No. I'm just...I'm sorry. I don't handle stress well," Santana replied flatly.

The two of them went back to their meal in silence.

* * *

Des gave her space the next day and Santana felt guilty. Maybe she really was just overreacting because of stress. If Des had wanted to be more than friends surely she would have said so.

She didn't have much time to dwell on that though. Most of the day she kept close to her phone in case one of her parents called about her abuela's condition. So far Alma Lopez had remained stable but she slept most of the time and her fever stayed steady.

Around lunch time a knock sounded at Santana's door.

"It's open," she said.

Des pushed the door open and popped her head in.

"I was gonna head down to The Drip. Thought I'd see if you wanted to come with," Des told her.

She almost said no, but as she opened her mouth she said, "yes."

The two of them made their way down the street to their favorite coffee place, each one lost in their own thoughts. Neither of them spoke until they ordered their drinks and sat down.

"How's your grandma?" Des asked, blowing on her hot chocolate.

"Stable," Santana replied.

Des nodded understandingly.

"Well, I hope everything turns out alright," she said honestly.

"Thanks," Santana replied.

They sat in silence for a bit and Santana wondered why she had come. She also wondered why Des had asked her to come.

_She's just being nice_, she told herself.

"No work?" Santana observed.

"It's getting pretty close to summer vacation so the kids don't have much homework except reviewing for tests," Des explained.

"Oh, right," Santana replied.

"I think I'm gonna get a coffee cake. You want anything?" Des asked, giving her a look that clearly told her she had to eat.

"Just a muffin."

Des got up and went to the counter.

* * *

Hours later Santana stared up at the ceiling from her bed. She had tried calling Brittany but got no answer, so instead she had called and updated Rachel and Kurt on her abuela's condition. They, at least, had been there for her.

_Stop pouting about Brittany. Move on_, she told herself angrily.

Angry tears stung at her eyes and she wiped them away with the palm of her hand. So much had changed that she thought never would and though she knew she wasn't handling it well, she didn't know how else to handle it.

As she was about to drift off her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Santana," Brittany breathed.

Santana sat bolt upright, wide awake.

"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry," Brittany said.

"No, no. I'm fine," Santana replied.

She smiled in spite of herself.

"Sorry it's been so long. MIT is crazy. I've been taking so many classes and meeting tons of people. It's hard to keep up. How have you been? How's New York?"

The voice was Brittany's, but she seemed like a totally new person.

"Um, it's good. I'm...I'm okay. Mi abuela is sick so I'm flying home on Tuesday to see her."

"Oh, no! I hope she feels better."

"Thanks."

"How are Rachel and Kurt? Are they driving you crazy yet?"

"They're good. I don't live with them anymore. I moved in with a friend a met here so I could have my own room."

"Oh. Who is this friend? Tell me all about them."

"Well, um..."

Santana bit her lip. What could she say without saying too much?

"Her name is Des and she's a teacher."

"Where did you meet her?"

"This extension dance class at NYADA. She's taking it too."

"What's she like?"

"She's..."

_Sweet, funny, helpful, beautiful, weird, amazing, perfect..._

"Interesting. She's from North Carolina and you would not _believe_ her accent."

They slipped into that easy way of talking that they had. Santana told her all about Des' interests and how much she had helped her, not bypassing the Calli situation. Brittany listened and made the appropriate comments and asked questions at the right time. Though they seemed to pick up right where they left off, something just didn't feel the same.

"So, you like her," Brittany stated.

"Des? It's not like that with us..."

"Maybe not now, but it could be. I know you better than anyone, Santana. You like her."

"She's cool and we're friends but..."

"Is she straight?"

"No."

"So go for it."

Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Part of her was heartbroken. Was it really over between her and Brittany? The other half of her breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she wasn't crazy after all. Maybe there _was_ something there with Des. The only questions was, how could she be sure?

* * *

**So that's it for this chapter. Bless every single one of you and your beautiful souls for your patience with me. I appreciate every single one of you.**


	16. A New Beginning

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:** _I just want to say thank you sooo much to all of you. This story is continuing to gain followers and favorites, and that really means a lot to me. So whether you've been reading since I started or you just joined me on this adventure, bless your beautiful soul. And for those who review regularly, your continuing support has been my driving force in writing so please keep it up. And to those who review every once in a while, thank you as well. All that being said, I wanted to make an announcement. Drum roll, please... ..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER!_

_Now before you get all horrified, don't worry. It's only the last chapter for this part of the journey. There's more to come...in Des' point of view! So relax, read, review if you like, and enjoy. Bask in the knowledge that you will soon enough experience the story through Des' eyes. Without further ado..._

* * *

Des was gone well before Santana woke up on Monday leaving her to find her own breakfast. She grabbed an apple and went back to her room. Soon after, her mom called.

"Tomorrow can't come soon enough," she told Santana.

"I know."

After a depressing conversation with her mother, Santana turned on her iPod to drown out the rest of the world for a while. She shuffled through some songs and closed her eyes as she laid on her back.

She had stopped paying close attention to what song was playing. Most of them seemed to be the same. Sad, slow, or about dancing at a club. One of the latter had just ended and a new song started up, fast this time.

"_I need your love_  
_I need your time_  
_When everything's wrong_  
_You make it right_  
_I feel so high_  
_I come alive_  
_I need to be free with you tonight_  
_I need your love..._"

The words made her stomach tie itself in knots.

"_I take a deep breath every time I pass your door_  
_I know you're there but I can't see you anymore_  
_And that's the reason you're in the dark_  
_I've been a stranger ever since we fell apart..._"

Brittany's face swam in front of Santana's eyes. She was trying so hard to move on but it wasn't as easy as others would have her believe.

"_And I feel so helpless here_  
_Watch my eyes are filled with fear_  
_Tell me do you feel the same?_  
_Hold me in your arms again..._"

Tears filled her eyes as the chorus floated into her ears. She swatted them away angrily and considered just skipping the song.

"_Now I'm dreaming, will I ever find you now?_  
_I walk in circles but I'll never figure out_  
_What I mean to you, do I belong?_  
_I try to fight this but I know I'm not that strong..._"

She pressed the skip button, unable to get Brittany out of her mind. The song was exactly how she felt about her lost love. And to make it worse, the chorus was also how she felt about Des. She rubbed her eyes as the next song played.

"_In the beginning_  
_I never thought it would be you_  
_When we were chillin'_  
_Smilin' in the photobooth_  
_But we got closer (yeah)_  
_Til you were eatin' off my spoon_  
_You're comin' over_  
_And we would talk all afternoon..._

_Tonight we'll just get drunk_  
_Disturb the peace_  
_Bind your hands_  
_All over me_  
_And then you bite your lip_  
_Whisper and say_  
_We're goin' all the way.._."

The hardest part of all of it was the confusion. Was she ready to move on from Brittany? Did she want Des as more than a friend?

"_Tonight, take me to the other side_  
_Sparks fly like the fourth of July_  
_Just take me to the other side_  
_I see that sexy look in your eyes_  
_And I know we ain't friends anymore_  
_If we walk down this road we'll be lovers for sure_  
_So tonight, kiss me like it's do or die_  
_And take me to the other side..._"

The urge she had felt to kiss Des was real for sure. She still felt it every time she looked at Des. But wanting to kiss her and wanting a relationship were totally different things, right?

"_This could be perfect (yeah)_  
_But we won't know unless we try (try)_  
_I know you're nervous_  
_So just sit back and let me drive.._."

If she waited for Des to admit her feelings and make the first move she would be waiting forever. In the blink of an eye the decision was made. Santana refused to hold on to the past or anything else that kept her from being happy. For so long she had been completely lost but now she had found, not only herself, but the person who would bring her through anything.

* * *

She thought about when and how to approach Des a lot that afternoon. Initially she had decided that when Des came home would be the right time, but then she reconsidered, thinking it best to wait until things had rolled over with her abuela. When Des walked in after work, Santana could tell the decision to wait was the right one.

Des gave her a smile, but it was small and unenthusiastic.

"Rough day?" Santana asked.

Des nodded.

"How about we order in tonight? I'm buying," Santana offered.

Des frowned.

"I wanted to cook for you before you left," she said.

Santana felt bad, but she wanted to pamper Des for once.

"Make it up to me when I get back. I want to hear all about your day," she told her.

So Des caved and dove into an epic tale of how one of her students got into a fight with a kid in another class at recess, and then about a girl being bullied at lunch, and ended with the one decent thing to happen. She had passed through her first year of teaching and her job was secure.

Santana ordered from Des' favorite Chinese place and popped in one of Des' favorite movies.

* * *

"You're being awfully sweet to me today. Something on your mind?" Des asked as they sat down to watch Pitch Perfect.

_You have no idea_, Santana thought.

"I just want to be there for you like you're always there for me. I know today was hard for you and I know that sometimes I'm not easy to live with. Especially this past week..."

"You have every right to be stressed out and upset," Des told her.

Santana smiled a little.

"Maybe. But I'm feeling generous today," Santana teased.

* * *

As they watched the movie, Santana sunk her head down onto Des' shoulder.

"I ship them so hard," Des whispered as Beca and Chloe sang _Titanium_ in the shower.

Santana grinned.

"Me too," she whispered back.

* * *

Santana was up with Des the next morning. She walked into the kitchen after a quick shower and sat down. Des had a cup of coffee for her and put a plate of waffles in front of her.

"Thanks," Santana said quietly.

Her stomach was doing back flips but she knew refusing breakfast would only earn her a pointed look and a lecture. She cut off a piece of a waffle and slowly brought the fork to her mouth as Des sat down next to her with her own waffles.

"You okay?" Des asked.

Santana nodded. There were two things Santana Lopez feared: Losing someone she loved and flying. She wasn't going to tell Des that, though.

"You'll call me when you land?"

Another nod.

"Fingers crossed for the best. I'll be thinking of you," Des promised.

They finished breakfast in relative silence and were ready to leave the apartment half an hour later.

A taxi was waiting for Santana. Des opened the door for her.

"Stay strong and call me if you need me."

Santana nodded, forcing herself not to cry.

Des grabbed her into a tight hug. Santana buried her face into Des' copper waves and inhaled deeply. As they pulled away Des kissed Santana's cheek.

"It'll be okay. Just breathe."

"Thank you," Santana said in a hushed voice.

Des gave her a smile, squeezed her hand, and helped her into the cab.

"I'll see you when you get back," she said, shutting the door for Santana.

The memory of Des' lips on her cheek sustained her until it was time to board the plane.

* * *

When Santana finally got to the hospital with her mother, her abuela was sleeping. Her dad hugged her tight when she entered the waiting room.

"She won't stop asking for you. Every time she wakes up she asks were Santana is," he told her.

That scared her more than she could say. Her abuela was the most stubborn, hard headed, strong person she knew. This could really be the end.

A few long hours later, Alma Lopez was awake and asking for Santana. A doctor entered the waiting room.

He walked over to where Santana and her parents waited.

"Santana?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Your grandmother would really like to see you," he told her gently.

Santana stood and followed the doctor into her abuela's room. The doctor bowed himself out and left Santana alone with her grandmother.

"Santana," Alma Lopez croaked.

Santana came close and held her abuela's outstretched hand.

"You came," she whispered.

"Of course, Abuelita," Santana replied gently.

Her abuela coughed violently into her free hand.

"It's okay, Abuelita, I'm here now. I'm not leaving until you're better," she promised.

Her abuela rolled her eyes.

"When did you turn so soft, Santana?" she scolded.

Clearly some part of who Alma Lopez always had been remained strong. Santana frowned, waiting to be cut down. To her surprise, her abuela's eyes softened.

"I'm glad you came."

Santana squeezed her grandma's hand gently.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. You are a strong young woman, Santana. You have to be to live the way you do. You and I are too much alike..."

She coughed again as Santana's eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry I wasted time being hateful and stubborn. You are my granddaughter and despite my mean ways and sharp tongue, I do love you."

"I love you too," Santana whispered.

She kissed her abuela's hand.

* * *

Her abuela's condition seemed to improve slightly after the first night that Santana was there. She called Des from her old bedroom.

"How is everything?" Des asked, concern flooding her voice.

"She's improving a little bit. Still coughing and sleeping a lot. How is the apartment without me?" Santana replied.

"Boring and lonely. I miss you already."

Santana smiled. She heard something in the background.

"What was that?"

"Door. I'll talk to you soon," Des told her.

"Oh. Okay."

Santana flopped down on her old bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was good to be home with her parents, and she hoped her abuela pulled through, but she missed New York..and Des.

That night when she slept she dreamed she lived with Rachel and Kurt but Quinn was there too and they lived in a place Santana didn't recognize. It looked like a school building or something. Then she realized it was one of the buildings from University of Louisville. She woke up before the sun rose and looked at her clock. She frowned, rolled over, and went back to sleep. This time, she dreamed of Des.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of this part of the story. The next phase of the journey will be called Heart's Desire, so be on the look out for the first chapter of that.**

**Songs:**  
"_I Need Your Love_" - Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding  
"_The Other Side_" - Jason Derulo


End file.
